Global food e-commerce sales are forecast to nearly triple through 2023, rising to $321 billion and accounting for nearly 5% of total e-commerce revenues, according to Packaged Facts, Rockville, Md.

The report, “Global Food E-Commerce,” projects the Asia/Pacific region will account for the majority of absolute growth, primarily due to the rapidly expanding Chinese market. China dominates regional e-grocery activity in part because of the country's large urban population and rapidly expanding middle class. In addition, much of China's very large population has access to high-tech devices and the ability to shop online.

In 2018, over 75% of food e-commerce revenues were concentrated in the Top 5 markets, including China, the United States, Japan, the UK and South Korea. In each of these countries, e-grocery spending is highest in large urban centers, where many retailers have focused their marketing efforts for home delivery or click-and-collect services.

Through 2023, demand growth in these countries will be driven by these five key factors:

1. Increasing comfort among existing online shoppers in making routine grocery purchases online.
2. Growing use of subscriptions and memberships with online retailers, which can promote retailer loyalty and increase online sales.
3. Greater penetration of broadband internet in rural and remote areas that previously only had access to dial-up.
4. Greater acceptance of, and investment in, home delivery, click-and-collect and drive order fulfillment formats in an increasingly omni-channel retail environment.
5. Improvements to data security that ease consumer fears about having their personal information stolen while shopping online.

About the report

This report covers the scope, size and growth of the global food e-commerce (i.e., online grocery or e-grocery) market, including key trends in major regions and national markets. Historical data are provided for 2013 and 2018 with forecasts for 2023 and 2028. Year-by-year historical market volatility is also addressed. Data is provided in dollar value. Also included is an analysis of the industry key players and their competitive strategies.

Food e-commerce sales are broken out for the following regions and countries:

• North America (United States and Canada)
• Western & Eastern Europe (UK, Germany and France)
• Asia/Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea and India)
• Latin America
• Africa/Mideast