Delivery was the mode of choice for 16% of consumers who order groceries online. A behavior most developed among urban consumers with suburbanites coming in second and rural grocery shoppers third. The click-and-collect/BOPUS shopping behavior skews to adults, ages 18-44, households with kids and urban shoppers, who show a higher rate for this behavior than other shoppers overall, suburban shoppers show an average rate, and rural households are under-developed.

“Digital purchasing will accelerate in food retailing, just as it has in other retail sectors where we see much higher rates of online purchases,” says David Portalatin, food industry advisor and author of the report. “Still, the brick-and-mortar grocery store will always be a necessary means of acquiring foods, especially those where consumers place a premium on their sensory assessment to ensure quality, like meats, fruits and vegetables. This gives forward-thinking retailers and their vendor partners an opportunity to truly create an omnichannel experience for the consumer, and revolutionize the way we think about grocery merchandising.”