Online Grocery Market (2021–2025)
With the online shopping boom and rising ecommerce sales in the United States year after year, it should come as no surprise that the online grocery market has also been growing pretty quickly in recent years.
In fact, experts are anticipating more and more people to shop for groceries over the internet, as online grocery penetration rates rise to 12.5% in 2024. Just how big is the online grocery market in the US? In this article, we’ll take a close look at the booming industry and its performance in recent years.
US online grocery industry: highlights
- Online grocery sales in the US are forecast to rise by 11.5% in 2024, to $204.61 billion.
- From 2021 to 2025, the online grocery industry is anticipated to expand by 69.9% and at an average annual growth rate of 14.2%.
- Walmart has the biggest market share, capturing more than one-quarter (25.7%) of total digital grocery sales.
Online grocery market size: table
|
Year |
Annual online grocery sales |
Annual change |
|
2021 |
$134.48 billion |
+18.1% |
|
2022 |
$159.61 billion |
+18.7% |
|
2023 |
$183.56 billion |
+15.0% |
|
2024 |
$204.61 billion |
+11.5% |
|
2025 |
$228.44 billion |
+11.6% |
Online grocery sales: 2021–2025
In 2024, sales from online grocery purchases in the US are expected to rise to $204.61 billion, exceeding the $200 billion mark for the very first time. This sales figure is forecast to mark an 11.5% annual increase from the previous year, the second-smallest annual increase expected between the forecast period of 2021 to 2025. This growth is spurred by hundreds of millions of digital grocery buyers across the country.
Online grocery sales have been increasing since at least 2021. That year, sales totaled $134.48 billion. An 18.7% rise in 2022 pushed this figure upward to $159.61 billion, before another 15% increase in 2023 saw sales rise to $183.56 billion.
Looking forward, sales are expected to continue growing in 2025—and at a marginally faster rate than in 2024. In 2025, sales are forecast to rise by 11.6%, to $228.44 billion.
This online grocery industry analysis shows that the market is set to increase its annual sales by $93.96 billion in just four years. This represents an overall increase of 69.9% and an average annual growth rate of 14.2%.
Online grocery market boom during the COVID-19 pandemic
The market experienced a massive boom in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. With brick-and-mortar stores shut and consumers mostly staying indoors to stem the virus spread, most shoppers resorted to going online to purchase groceries.
According to the latest statistics, tens of millions of US consumers purchased groceries via the internet for the first time during the pandemic.
Online grocery market: 2024’s top players
Where are US consumers doing their online grocery shopping?
A recent ranking of online grocery market share by company shows that Walmart is the nation’s leading store in 2024, with a share of 25.7%. This means that more than $1 out of every $4 consumers spend on purchasing groceries online is on Walmart.
This is followed by Amazon, with a share of 22%. Together, these top two online grocery stores have a combined share of 47.7%.