U.S. online grocery sales surged to a new high of $12.5 billion in September, marking a 31% increase over the previous year and the second consecutive month a record was set, according to the Brick Meets Click Grocery Shopper Survey, sponsored by Mercatus.
Driven by a record-setting number of monthly active users (MAU), sustained gains in order frequency, and solid increases in average order value (AOV), online spending for September captured its highest share since very early during the pandemic.
“A sign of the growing challenges facing regional grocers is the sharp increase in the share of grocery MAUs that also completed at least one e-grocery order with mass during September vs. the two prior years,” says David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click. “The results reveal cross-shopping rates with Walmart continued to expand significantly in 2025, and the rate for Target also increased YOY, even though it remains significantly lower than Walmart.”
Key takeaways:
· The overall base of e-grocery MAUs hit a new high during September, up nearly 13% year-over-year (YOY). The vast majority of the increase came from re-engaging less frequent customers who most recently bought groceries online 2-3 months prior.
· The average number of online orders per MAU during the month climbed 9% vs. year ago, marking 13 consecutive months of YOY gains in frequency.
· The combined AOV for delivery and pickup grew by almost 8% YOY. Gains were recorded across supermarket, mass, and dollar, along with larger surges in spending at hard discounters and club. In addition, ship-to-home’s AOV finished up by nearly 11% YOY.
