Digital Grocery Sales Continued to Grow in Q3, but Shopper Habits Changed in Response to Inflation
Incisiv and Wynshop’s Grocery Doppio industry research platform reveals the latest data insights on the state of digital grocery.
Incisiv, a next-generation industry insights firm that helps retailers and brands navigate digital disruption, and Wynshop, the leading provider of digital commerce and fulfillment solutions for local store-based retailers, today revealed the findings from their State of Digital Grocery Performance Card for Q3, 2022.
Digital grocery sales rose 14.4% in Q3, as compared with Q2, reaching $87 billion in 2022 sales, or 13.4% of the total US grocery market. But shopper buying habits appear to have changed in response to inflation. The average digital grocery basket contained 5-6 fewer items in 2022 than in the corresponding basket of 2021, and 73% of shoppers claim to have switched to lower-priced brands.
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More key findings from the Q3, 2022 Performance Card include:
- Inflation changed the digital grocery basket
—The average price/item in a digital basket increased by 21% from the previous year
—This represents an increase of $0.30/item in Q3, as compared to Q2
—Although overall digital basket size grew 10.2% from Q1 to Q3, digital basket item quantity decreased by an average of four to six items over the same period
- Preference for pickup accelerated as sales through third-party marketplaces declined
—Digital grocery sales through third-party providers declined 23% in Q3 as compared to Q1
—Grocers’ own websites continue to account for the majority of digital sales, at 70.2% in Q3
—Pickup orders increased to $16 billion in Q3, representing 52.8% of all digital orders, as compared with $15.4 billion in Q1 and $13.2 billion in Q2
- In-store inventory visibility continues to be a challenge
—One in six pickup orders in 2022 included at least one substituted item
—Lost sales in 2022 rose to $2 billion in canceled digital orders and $7.5 billion in items not found/substituted
“While digital grocery rose in Q3 compared to Q2, there was a weakening in sales and shopper sentiment in September,” said Gaurav Pant, Chief Insights Officer of both Incisiv and Grocery Doppio, “Shoppers are now moving to private-label brands and shifting spending to lower-priced grocery chains.”
“Grocery shoppers have made it clear that they will continue to buy online, and prefer to do so directly from their favorite grocer,” said Charlie Kaplan, Chief Strategy Officer of Wynshop. “Better inventory visibility and insights into digital shopper purchasing behavior will continue to be critical to achieving profitable online businesses and satisfied grocery shoppers.”
These and other data insights are now available for download on Grocery Doppio, a free, independent source of grocery insights and data designed to help grocers jumpstart, accelerate, and sustain digital growth.
Every month, Grocery Doppio brings together rich, research-driven grocery content, fact-based observations, inspiring perspectives, and deep performance benchmarks that identify improvement opportunities for grocery retailers. The site is designed to help grocery and food executives optimize their digital and in-store channels, and accelerate growth profitably.
