INDIANAPOLIS–The way many Americans shop for groceries has drastically changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. That change looks like it is here to stay.
“2020 was the boom in the digital grocery game. About 40 million new Americans tried it out for the first time in 2020. In 2021, the number is going to be over half the country with about 140 million Americans using digital grocery shopping in some form or another,” said Nelson Spade, general manager of Circus Digital Media, in an interview with WISH-TV Thursday. Circus Digital Media is located in Indianapolis.
Spade says this was something that was building momentum even before the pandemic. He says it is being fueled by two key things.
“First and foremost, all the research points to people spending a lot more money online than they do in stores to the tune of almost 40%. The idea being it’s easier for someone to click an extra item as opposed to find the item in the store, pick it up, and put it in their cart. The second thing is delivery services becoming more accessible and reliable for the average merchant,” said Spade.
Spade says apps like DoorDash, InstaCart, and Uber are becoming more accessible.
“It’s getting more merchants into the game. It was a bit of a stumble at first, but they’ve made a lot of adjustments since then. On many apps, you can now say, ‘Hey, I’m on the way. Please have my items ready for me,” said Spade.
Spade believes grocery delivery and pickup will be growing substantially through 2025.
