At this point, online grocery shopping appears to be an adjunct to retail shopping rather than a replacement.
While more and more Americans are shopping online in lieu of going to stores, this trend has not yet hit the retail grocery industry in a significant way. In fact, 9% of U.S. adults report their household orders groceries online for pickup or delivery at least once a month, including 4% who do it at least weekly, according to an annual consumption habits survey conducted by Gallup, Washington, D.C. By contrast, almost all Americans say someone in their family shops for groceries in person at least once a month, with 83% going at least once a week.
The survey, which was conducted July 5-9, reveals that highly frequent grocery shopping is occurring mostly in person, highlighting the potential for growth in the online grocery business.