January started the year with higher online grocery sales than the same month in each of the last two years, according to new data from the monthly Brick Meets Click and Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey.

More than that, January online grocery sales in the United States hit the $10 billion threshold for just the second time. The only other time to date was in October 2024, when they surged to $10.5 billion.

Since August 2024, online grocery sales each month have reached at least $9.5 billion, according to Brick Meets Click and Mercatus.

January 2025 marked a 16.6% year-over-year increase in online grocery sales. Consumers spent more using all three receiving methods Brick Meets Click and Mercatus track.

Brick Meets Click and Mercatus define the three receiving methods for online grocery sales as:

• Delivery: Includes orders received from a first- or third-party provider like Instacart, Shipt or the retailer’s own employees.
• Pickup: Includes orders received by customers either inside or outside a store or at a designated location/locker.
• Ship-to-home: Includes orders that consumers receive via common or contract carriers like FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc.

January online grocery sales set strong tone to start 2025

Two of the three receiving methods captured more than $4 billion each in January online grocery sales, their data shows.

Online grocery delivery

Delivery sales grew 37% year over year in January, faster than the segment’s 24.6% in December. It continued to benefit from promotional discounts on memberships and subscriptions that have been ongoing since the middle of last year, Brick Meets Click said. The segment also grew its monthly active user (MAU) base, order frequency, and average order value (AOV), it added. As a result, the Delivery segment took a 41% share of January online grocery sales.

“It’s important to call out that much of Delivery’s explosive growth is driven by Mass [Merchants] and specifically Walmart,” said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, in a statement. “The ongoing waves of promotional tactics are having the intended positive impact on frequency and spend, and they are also increasing retention and share of wallet, which will make growth for their rivals more challenging going forward.”

Walmart and Mass Merchants like it, including Target and Costco, take a large share of online grocery sales from dedicated supermarkets and grocery stores. Costco’s total sales in January reached $19.51 billion, up 9.2% year over year from $17.87 billion. Of that, 15.2% came through ecommerce — and that’s just from one retailer, though Costco did not delineate what portion was from online grocery sales.

Walmart, Target and Costco each rank within the Top 10 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000 Database. The database tracks North America’s largest online retailers based on their annual ecommerce sales.

Online grocery pickup

And although Pickup’s year-over-year growth percentage was much smaller, the segment’s total sales were still the largest of the three at $4.2 billion. Brick Meets Click said the growth primarily came from larger AOVs, offsetting a smaller MAU base and drop in order frequency.

“The headwinds facing Pickup are due largely to the impact of the promotional efforts that are driving demand towards Delivery,” it added.

Ship-to-Home online grocery orders

Meanwhile, Ship-to-Home sales grew 9% year over year, to $1.6 billion. The segment’s MAU base and order frequency grew year over year in January amid a decline in AOV, according to Brick Meets Click and Mercatus analysis.

“Ship-to-Home continues to benefit to some degree from a suboptimal in-store shopping experience related to certain general merchandise and Health & Beauty care products being locked up to prevent theft,” they said.

Competition from Mass Merchants

“Grocery operators, which include both Supermarkets and Hard Discounters, continue to face stiff competition from Mass rivals and specifically Walmart as it leverages Delivery and its Walmart+ membership program to gain market share,” the companies said.

Mass Merchants consistently served half of all MAUs each January since 2022, the companies added. Meanwhile, supermarkets served one-third and hard discount retailers served less than 5%.

Cross-shopping also factors in, they said. A third of grocery retailers’ MAU base also completed an order with a Mass Merchant in January 2025, according to Brick Meets Click and Mercatus data.

“Delivery’s impressive growth has been driven by membership promotions, but shoppers can easily shift platforms depending on which factor matters most to them — price, product, or convenience,” said Mark Fairhurst, chief growth marketing officer at Mercatus, in a statement. “Grocers that prioritize seamless experiences, deliver personalized offers, provide exceptional service, and implement compelling loyalty strategies will be best positioned for sustainable, long-term growth.”

Click here to read last month’s update on online grocery sales.

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