Grocery delivery is part of a broader online grocery market that includes both delivered orders and orders collected by shoppers. In 2023, 19.5% of U.S. grocery shoppers age 15 and older bought groceries online during the previous 30 days. Among those online shoppers, 43.5% usually had orders delivered, while 52.4% usually picked them up. These figures come from U.S. sources and should not be read as delivery-only participation rates.
Contents
- Online grocery shopping frequency
- Pickup versus delivery
- Reasons people shop online
- Who shops online
- Online grocery shopping, food access, and SNAP
- Market sales and household food spending
Online grocery shopping frequency
The USDA Economic Research Service Eating and Health Module summary findings measured recent online grocery shopping among U.S. grocery shoppers age 15 and older. In 2023, 19.5% bought groceries online at least once in the previous 30 days. The measure covers online orders received through pickup or delivery, so it describes online grocery shopping rather than delivery alone.
Frequency varied among people who had purchased groceries online during that 30-day period:
- 30.6% purchased online once.
- 22.3% purchased online twice.
- 47.1% purchased online three or more times.
The large three-or-more-times group shows that online grocery shopping was not limited to occasional trial orders for many recent users. Still, the percentages describe purchase frequency within the past month, not an annual average or a claim that the same households continued at that pace throughout the year.
The USDA’s 2022 results provide a nearby comparison in its report Who Shops for Groceries Online?. In that year, 19.3% of U.S. residents who regularly shopped for groceries bought groceries online at least once in the previous 30 days. Among those past-month online shoppers, 30.2% purchased online once, 25.1% made two online grocery purchases, and 44.7% purchased groceries online three or more times.
Recent online grocery participation
| Measure | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Regular grocery shoppers buying online in the previous 30 days | 19.3% | 19.5% |
| Past-month online shoppers purchasing once | 30.2% | 30.6% |
| Past-month online shoppers purchasing twice | 25.1% | 22.3% |
| Past-month online shoppers purchasing three or more times | 44.7% | 47.1% |
The two years use related USDA measures, but the source descriptions identify somewhat different survey populations. The 2023 summary refers to grocery shoppers age 15 and older, while the 2022 report describes U.S. residents who regularly shopped for groceries. The comparison is therefore useful context, not a perfectly identical time series.
Pickup versus delivery
Online ordering does not automatically mean a driver brings groceries to the home. In the USDA’s 2023 summary, 52.4% of people who bought groceries online usually picked them up. Another 43.5% usually had them delivered, and 4.1% used both pickup and delivery. The pickup share was 8.9 percentage points higher than the delivery share in that measure.
The 2022 report shows a more evenly divided pattern: 49.1% usually picked up groceries, 48.7% usually had groceries delivered, and 2.3% split receipt evenly between pickup and delivery. Because the categories and rounding do not describe every possible ordering arrangement in identical terms, these figures are best used to show the balance between fulfillment methods in each survey year.
| Usual way of receiving online groceries | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup | 49.1% | 52.4% |
| Delivery | 48.7% | 43.5% |
| Both or evenly split | 2.3% | 4.1% |
For meal planning, the distinction matters. A household may use an online cart to organize a weekly shop, then choose pickup to avoid waiting at home. Another may choose delivery because transportation or physical access makes a store visit harder. The available statistics describe how orders are received; they do not establish that one method is universally cheaper, faster, or more convenient.
Reasons people shop online
Time was the leading main reason reported by 2023 online grocery shoppers. According to the USDA summary findings, 48.1% identified time constraints as the main reason for buying groceries online. Convenience was the main reason for 13.9%. Other reported primary reasons included transportation limitations at 4.5%, price at 4.4%, and physical safety concerns at 3.8%.
These responses point to different planning needs. Time constraints relate to fitting shopping into work, caregiving, or other schedules. Transportation limitations and physical safety concerns relate more directly to access. Price was the main reason for a smaller share of online shoppers in this measure, so online grocery use should not be characterized as primarily a price-saving behavior from these figures alone.
The same USDA source also recorded reasons given by people who did not buy groceries online. The ability to see and touch products in person was the main reason for 49.3% of non-online grocery shoppers. Higher online prices were the main reason for 4.7%, no access to ordering technology for 4.4%, a delivery fee for 2.5%, and unavailable delivery in the shopper’s neighborhood for 1.8%.
Together, the responses show both sides of the channel. Online shopping can reduce a time or transportation burden for some households, while the inability to inspect products, technology access, delivery fees, and neighborhood availability can discourage others. The percentages identify reported main reasons; they do not measure every secondary concern a shopper may have.
Who shops online
The USDA Economic Research Service analysis of online grocery shopping participation reports modeled likelihood estimates for U.S. residents age 15 and older who usually do at least some household grocery shopping in 2022–2023. These are modeled estimates, not simple counts of orders and not proof that demographic characteristics cause online shopping behavior.
Age differences were pronounced. The modeled likelihood was 26% for people ages 15–24, 24% for those ages 25–54, and 12% for people age 55 and older. The estimate was 22% for women and 16% for men. People in households with children under 18 had a 23% modeled likelihood, compared with 18% for people in households without children. People with a spouse or partner present had a 20% likelihood, compared with 18% for people without one.
Education also tracked with the modeled estimate. It was 10% for people without a high school diploma, 15% for people with a high school diploma or GED, 21% for people with some college or an associate’s degree, 22% for people with a bachelor’s degree, and 26% for people with an advanced degree.
The estimates by race and ethnicity were 21% for non-Hispanic White individuals, 17% for Hispanic individuals, 18% for non-Hispanic Black individuals, and 16% for people from other non-Hispanic racial backgrounds. The modeled likelihood was 20% for frequent household grocery shoppers and 18% for nonfrequent shoppers. It was 21% for unemployed individuals and 19% for employed individuals.
These results describe differences in modeled participation across groups during 2022–2023. They do not establish that every person in a higher-estimate group shops online, nor that every person in a lower-estimate group avoids delivery or pickup.
Online grocery shopping, food access, and SNAP
Online grocery access also intersects with nutrition-benefit redemption. In 2022–2023, the USDA analysis estimated a 20% likelihood of online grocery shopping for SNAP participants and 16% for income-eligible SNAP nonparticipants. The modeled estimate was 20% for people in metropolitan areas and 18% for people in nonmetropolitan areas.
USDA redemption data show how the online channel expanded for SNAP and Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer, or P-EBT. The USDA chart on online SNAP and P-EBT redemption reports that by the end of fiscal year 2023, online redemption was available at 341 retailers and in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. In July–September 2023, online SNAP and P-EBT redemptions reached $2.3 billion, equal to 8.8% of all redemptions.
Earlier figures from the USDA’s pandemic-period redemption chart provide a longer context. By the end of fiscal year 2020, online SNAP and P-EBT redemption was available at seven retailers in 45 states and Washington, DC. Online redemptions totaled $1.5 billion in 2020 and $6.2 billion in 2021. In the first quarter of 2022, online SNAP and P-EBT redemptions totaled $1.9 billion, or 5.7% of all redemptions.
The expansion from seven retailers in 45 states and Washington, DC, at the end of FY 2020 to 341 retailers in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia by the end of FY 2023 describes program availability, not a guarantee that every household had identical retailer coverage, delivery options, fees, or local inventory.
Market sales and household food spending
The FDA’s request for information on food labeling in online grocery shopping cites U.S. online grocery sales of $62.2 billion in 2019 and $95.8 billion in 2020. The source reports 54% growth from 2019 to 2020 and says online grocery sales accounted for 7.4% of all U.S. grocery sales in 2020.
The same FDA document cites an industry forecast that online grocery orders would reach 11.2% of all U.S. grocery sales in 2023. That 11.2% figure is explicitly a forecast cited by the FDA, not a measured 2023 outcome, so it should not be presented as an observed market share.
For household budget context, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditures in 2024 reports average U.S. consumer-unit spending on food at home of $6,224 in 2024. Average food-at-home spending increased 2.8% in 2024. BLS food-at-home spending covers grocery stores and similar venues; it is contextual spending data rather than spending attributed specifically to delivery, pickup, or another fulfillment channel.
Taken together, these figures describe a market with substantial online sales, a mixed pickup-and-delivery model, and household food spending that extends beyond any single ordering method. They are useful for planning around grocery routines, but the available evidence does not support treating total online sales, delivery sales, SNAP redemption, and food-at-home spending as interchangeable measures.