Egrocery sales down 1.2% to start 2023, repeat intent raises 'red flag'

Mass vs. grocery

In egrocery, the story continues to be the dichotomy between mass retailers such as Walmart and Kroger, and grocery stores such as Kroger.

In January, the mass category saw a 20% increase in monthly active users. Meanwhile, the grocery MAUs shrank by 6%.

Mass retailers offering price breaks are continuing to be an attractive option, especially as prices remain high amid inflation. Still, there is crossover, as about 3 in 10 households that shop at a mass retailer also shop at a grocery store.

Repeat intent rates were also down. The likelihood that a customer will use the same service within the next 30 days dipped by about two percentage points over the year to 60%. In a “troubling sign” BMC said that this was driven by frequent customers who typically spend more per order.

Grocery also trailed in this measure, recording the largest gap in repeat intent with mass since measurement began at 14%.

“This large gap in repeat intent is concerning and should raise a red flag for conventional grocers,” said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, in a statement. “While our monthly research didn’t examine the causes for the variations between Grocery and Mass, it could be associated with a number of variables, including product pricing, service-related costs, or differences in customer experience, so grocers may want to analyze what are the main culprits driving their respective rates lower.”