The number of households buying groceries online ticked up in June

The news: US online grocery sales fell 1.2% year-over-year (YoY) in June to $7.1 billion as the number of orders completed during the month fell over 5%, per a new Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey.

The good news: Despite the overall online sales decline, the share of US households that bought groceries online rose over 1% year-over-year (YoY) in June and the overall order value increased 3% YoY.

• That dovetails with a PYMNTS study that found 7.2% of consumers purchase all their everyday staples online, up from just 0.2% before the pandemic, and 39% buy their groceries through a mix of physical and digital channels, up from 37% prepandemic.
• Convenience is a significant factor for 62% of shoppers who opted to purchase more grocery items through digital channels than from brick-and-mortar grocery stores, with 36% stating it was their primary motivation for doing so.

The trend: How shoppers buy groceries online is in the midst of a significant shift as consumers grow increasingly cost-conscious, according to the Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey.

• Pickup sales grew 3.2% YoY to $3.5 billion, with the share of overall sales growing to nearly 49%.
• Delivery sales fell 2.5% YoY, marking the second straight month that sales declined.
• Ship-to-home sales dropped 9.7% YoY, and now account for less than 17% of all online grocery purchases.

The big takeaway: Our forecast expects US online grocery sales to grow 18.7% this year.

• That growth will stem from a combination of inflation—grocery prices were up 4.7% YoY in June—and consumers seeking convenience.
• Pickup seems likely to account for a growing share of those sales as consumers look for ways to save.