When it comes to online grocery, consumers are more willing to hop in their cars and pick up their orders than wait around (and/or pay the extra price) for delivery.
For the study “12 Months of the ConnectedEconomy™: 33,000 Consumers on Digital’s Role in Their Everyday Lives,” PYMNTS collected responses from tens of thousands of U.S. consumers over the course of last year, tracking how their use of digital technology changed across the different parts of their day-to-day lives. The results revealed that online grocery adoption rose across the various ordering methods, with some proving more popular than others.
The study found that, by November, 41% of consumers reported purchasing groceries online for curbside pickup in the previous month, greater than the 35% that said the same at the close of 2021. The fulfillment channel is the most popular among online grocery shoppers, just ahead of the 40% of consumers choosing to have groceries delivered to their homes later (also up from 35% in December 2021).
Meanwhile, 37% of consumers opted for the other kind of eGrocery pickup, walking into stores to collect their order rather than waiting in their cars, up from 30% in December 2021, and 34% chose a same-day delivery option such as Instacart or grocers’ own express delivery options, up from 29%.
The least popular of all online grocery options were meal kits. Thirty-one percent of those surveyed reported receiving kits from a subscription service that delivers regularly, an increase from 26% the previous December.
Although consumers exhibited preferences for certain eGrocery channels over others, there were significant increases in adoption across the board throughout this period, even as there were peaks and valleys along the way. All online grocery fulfillment methods saw growth, ending 2022 stronger than they started it.
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