Online grocery shopping reached 19.5% of U.S. household grocery shoppers aged 15 and older in 2023, up from 19.3% in 2022. Among people who did shop online, ordering three or more times per month was the most common frequency pattern in both years. These estimates describe nationally representative U.S. residents who usually did at least some household grocery shopping.
Contents
- Participation and frequency
- Pickup and delivery
- Why people shop online
- Why some shoppers stay offline
- Who shops online
- Adjusted differences in behavior
Participation and frequency
The 2022 Eating and Health Module of the American Time Use Survey found that 87.2% of U.S. residents aged 15 and older usually did at least a little grocery shopping for their household, whether online or in person. Within that grocery-shopping population, 19.3% bought groceries online at least once during the previous 30 days. The average online grocery shopper made 2.8 online grocery purchases during that month. USDA Economic Research Service, “Who Shops for Groceries Online?”
Online shopping was not limited to occasional trial orders. In 2022, 30.2% of past-month online grocery shoppers ordered once, 25.1% ordered twice, and 44.7% ordered three or more times during the month. The largest group therefore consisted of shoppers using online grocery services repeatedly rather than only once.
The 2023 ERS summary findings show a similar participation level with a slightly higher share: 19.5% of U.S. residents aged 15 and older who did at least some household grocery shopping bought groceries online at least once in the previous 30 days. Frequency shifted somewhat toward more regular use. In 2023, 30.6% of past-month online grocery shoppers ordered once, 22.3% ordered twice, and 47.1% ordered three or more times. USDA Economic Research Service, “Eating and Health Module (ATUS) - Summary Findings”
| Online grocery behavior | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Bought groceries online at least once in the previous 30 days | 19.3% | 19.5% |
| Ordered once among past-month online shoppers | 30.2% | 30.6% |
| Ordered twice among past-month online shoppers | 25.1% | 22.3% |
| Ordered three or more times among past-month online shoppers | 44.7% | 47.1% |
The participation estimates and frequency categories use different denominators: participation is measured among people who usually did household grocery shopping, while the frequency breakdown is measured among past-month online grocery shoppers. Keeping those populations separate matters when interpreting the percentages.
Pickup and delivery
In 2022, pickup and delivery were nearly evenly divided among U.S. past-month online grocery shoppers. A total of 49.1% usually picked up their online orders, while 48.7% usually had the groceries delivered. Another 2.3% split receipt about equally between pickup and delivery. USDA Economic Research Service, “Who Shops for Groceries Online?”
The 2023 pattern leaned more clearly toward pickup. Pickup was the usual method for 52.4% of past-month online grocery shoppers, compared with 43.5% who usually had groceries delivered. A further 4.1% used both pickup and delivery. USDA Economic Research Service, “Eating and Health Module (ATUS) - Summary Findings”
| Usual receipt method | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup | 49.1% | 52.4% |
| Delivery | 48.7% | 43.5% |
| Both or approximately equal use | 2.3% | 4.1% |
For meal planning, these figures describe two different ways of completing the same online order. Pickup was the leading method in 2023, but delivery remained a substantial part of online grocery use. The survey categories report usual receipt method; they do not measure the quality, speed, or cost of either option.
Why people shop online
Time constraints were the leading main reason for online grocery shopping in both years. In 2022, 40.5% of U.S. past-month online grocery shoppers identified time constraints as their main reason. In 2023, that share was 48.1%. The result places time management at the center of online grocery use for meal-planning households. USDA Economic Research Service, “Who Shops for Groceries Online?”; USDA Economic Research Service, “Eating and Health Module (ATUS) - Summary Findings”
Convenience was the main reason for 10.6% of online grocery shoppers in 2022 and 13.9% in 2023. Product-related reasons collectively motivated 16.6% in 2022. Other 2022 main-reason groupings included physical safety concerns at 6.6%, transportation limitations at 4.5%, price itself at 6.0%, safety-related reasons collectively at 10.4%, and store-access reasons collectively at 7.1%.
The 2023 summary reports price as the main reason for 4.4% of online grocery shoppers and physical safety concerns as the main reason for 3.8%. These are shares selecting a main reason, not a ranking of every possible benefit or consideration. A shopper could value convenience while identifying time constraints as the primary reason captured by the survey.
Why some shoppers stay offline
The most common stated reason among U.S. grocery shoppers who did not shop online was a preference for seeing and touching products in person. That response was selected by 47.4% in 2022 and 49.3% in 2023. For fresh food, household supplies, or unfamiliar products, the in-person inspection preference remained the dominant reported barrier in both measurement years. USDA Economic Research Service, “Who Shops for Groceries Online?”; USDA Economic Research Service, “Eating and Health Module (ATUS) - Summary Findings”
In 2022, 32.0% selected another reason not listed in the survey. Smaller measured barriers included no access to technology for placing an order at 5.2%, higher online prices at 4.3%, delivery fees at 1.9%, and missing or wrong items in deliveries at 1.8%.
The 2023 summary reports higher online prices for 4.7% of nononline grocery shoppers and no access to technology for 4.4%. Because the question asks people who did not shop online, these percentages should not be read as the share of all grocery shoppers or as estimates of total online demand. They identify reasons within the nononline group.
Who shops online
The 2022 demographic profile shows that online grocery shoppers were more concentrated among adults aged 25–54 than nononline grocery shoppers. People aged 25–54 represented 66.6% of online grocery shoppers, compared with 48.1% of nononline grocery shoppers. People older than 54 represented 21.2% of online grocery shoppers, compared with 39.9% of nononline grocery shoppers. USDA Economic Research Service, “Who Shops for Groceries Online?”
Online grocery shoppers were also more likely than nononline shoppers to be female, have a spouse or partner present, and have children under 18. The respective shares were 60.0% versus 51.2% for female shoppers, 65.0% versus 57.2% for a spouse or partner present, and 37.5% versus 24.2% for children under 18.
Education and employment showed additional differences. More than a bachelor’s degree was reported for 24.4% of online grocery shoppers, compared with 14.3% of nononline shoppers. Employment was reported for 73.1% of online grocery shoppers and 63.2% of nononline shoppers. Metropolitan residence was common in both groups: 87.6% of online shoppers and 85.5% of nononline shoppers lived in metropolitan areas.
These are descriptive subgroup shares. They show how the two shopper populations differed in 2022, but they do not by themselves establish that any single demographic characteristic caused online grocery shopping.
Adjusted differences in behavior
The ERS report also provides regression-based average marginal effects. These adjusted differences account for other characteristics in the analysis and are not simple comparisons of subgroup percentages.
After adjustment in 2022, men were 4 percentage points less likely than women to buy groceries online and made 0.16 fewer online grocery purchases during the month. Having children under 18 increased the likelihood of online grocery shopping by 4 percentage points; people with children under 18 made 0.22 more online grocery purchases during the month.
Race, education, income eligibility, shopping frequency, and age were also associated with adjusted differences. Non-Hispanic Black shoppers were 4 percentage points less likely than non-Hispanic White shoppers to buy groceries online. Having more than a bachelor’s degree increased the likelihood by 17 percentage points compared with having less than a high school education.
Income-eligible SNAP nonparticipants made 0.19 fewer online grocery purchases than income-ineligible SNAP nonparticipants during the month. Frequent grocery shoppers made 0.13 more online grocery purchases than nonfrequent shoppers.
Age showed one of the largest adjusted gaps. People older than 54 were 16 percentage points less likely than people aged 15–24 to buy groceries online. They also made 0.49 fewer online grocery purchases during the month. These adjusted results describe associations in the 2022 analysis, not causal effects or forecasts for later years.