Online Grocery Shopping Statistics (2025): Latest Data & Summary

The second half of 2025 is a good time to reflect on the state of the online grocery industry. The year has been another one marked by growth, continuing the trend that kicked off during the 2020 pandemic. This branch of retail is well-established and thriving, as online grocery shopping statistics will show.

This article compiles insightful data that paints a picture of the online grocery shopping landscape as of October 2025. Let’s examine the numbers and what they mean for online grocery retailers.

Online grocery shopping statistics: Market size

Online grocery exploded because of the pandemic, but the convenience offered to online shoppers has a lasting, worldwide appeal. Even today, the global online grocery market continues to grow.

In 2024, the global online food & grocery market grew 12.3% to $782.6B. Most forecasts place the total in the $725B–$810B range for 2025–2026.

This thriving market is supported by an estimated 1.4 billion monthly consumers. They choose online grocery services for various reasons, which vary from country to country.

In the US, the top three reasons US shoppers buy groceries online were:

• Saving time (77% of shoppers)
• Avoiding impulse purchases (41% of shoppers)
• Ease of comparing products and prices (38% of shoppers)

With many good reasons to use these services, online grocery shopping statistics for the US market demonstrate a continuous boom.

As of mid-2025, about 61% of U.S. households (≈ 81M homes, ~138.3M people) buy groceries online. Industry projections put 2025 U.S. online-grocery sales in the $300B+ range, with online expected to contribute ~40% of U.S. grocery growth in 2025.

Those who doubted that online shopping would continue to thrive when the pandemic restrictions were removed have been proved wrong.

The US online grocery market has grown with every passing year.

This June (2025) U.S. online-grocery sales reached $9.8B, +27.6% YoY. August 2025 hit $11.2B (+14% YoY) with Delivery at 45% share and Pickup down >6 pp YoY.

Online grocery shopping statistics: Major players

From corner stores to major brands, there are grocery businesses of every size in the US.

According to a market report published in June, there are over 62,000 grocery stores and supermarkets in the US.

However, not all of these stores have embraced the future, which is online grocery.

Reports show that there are approximately 5,970 online grocery businesses in the US. This means only about 9.5% are taking advantage of the increased opportunities found online.

As the market becomes even more lucrative, retailers would be wise to take steps toward digital transformation of their stores. This is reflected in how the total number of grocery businesses decreased by around 0.9% between 2022 and 2023.

The number of online grocery businesses grew by 19.9% in the same period.

As more players enter the field, the biggest names continue to maintain their strong positions. The top five companies in the US online grocery industry account for nearly 70% of all grocery ecommerce sales.

This table shows the 5 largest U.S. online grocery retailers, their 2024 sales, growth rates, and projections for 2025.

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Online grocery shopping statistics: Consumer habits

As logistical problems like delivery times and freshness of goods are solved, ordering groceries online becomes increasingly attractive. That’s why drastic changes are happening in short amounts of time in the online grocery industry.

Today, online grocery shopping statistics show that most consumers have become very comfortable with the practice.

By mid-2025, 61% of U.S. households bought groceries online, and U.S. online grocery penetration is 12.5% in 2024 (while 13.8% is projected for 2025) of total grocery sales. Shoppers increasingly mix fulfillment methods (delivery, pickup, ship-to-home)

Another report from last year found that 40% of online grocery shoppers use these services on a weekly basis.

The popularity of online grocery stores means that consumers are visiting brick-and-mortar stores less frequently.

However, that doesn’t mean they are spending any less money. According to data compiled by Drive Research, the average online grocery shopping session costs shoppers $174.

There could be various reasons behind why customers are spending more on online groceries than before, such as:

• Inflation
• Changing dietary preferences
• Switching brands

Future trends for online grocery

The future of online grocery looks to be both busy and bright. Busy because growing market penetration will bring in more customers and more competition.

Bright because as the number of shoppers increases, the number of opportunities for retailers to succeed also increases.

Through 2029, online-grocery is forecast to grow at ~8.9% CAGR, versus ~1.7% for in-store. By 2029, online-grocery could reach ~17% of total U.S. grocery sales. Also, CPG online is growing ~5× faster than in-store (~10% vs ~2%annually)

Online grocery store owners must be prepared to cater to this booming market. One way to stand out from the competition is to emphasize sustainability.

Sustainability has become an even bigger priority in 2025.

• 44% of consumers are willing to pay more for food produced sustainably.
• Nearly 80% of consumers worldwide are open to paying extra for eco-friendly products.
• Among younger buyers, 60% of Millennials and 59% of Gen Z report a willingness to pay a premium for sustainable goods

Succeeding in online grocery in 2025

Online grocery shopping statistics clearly show that it has tremendous promise as an industry.

For grocery retailers willing to implement digital transformation, grocery ecommerce could be a major boost for your business.

Find the best grocery ecommerce platform to make your transition to the world of online grocery sales a smooth one.

Contact us now and learn why Wave Grocery is the right platform for your online grocery business.