Online grocery sales projected to reach almost $120 billion by 2028

Total online grocery sales are projected to reach almost $120 billion annually by the end of 2028.

A new forecast shows online grocery sales are on pace to grow three-times faster than in-store sales over the next five years.

That’s according to the new U.S. eGrocery Sales Forecast from Brick Meets Click, which found that overall grocery sales in the U.S. are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.6% through 2028. This is considerably slower than the 5.6% posted over the five years ending in 2023, which were powered by the pandemic and price inflation.

However, online grocery sales are projected to increase at a CAGR of 4.5%, more than three-times faster than the 1.3% rate anticipated for the in-store segment over the next five years. Total online grocery sales, which includes the delivery, pickup and ship-to-home methods, are projected to reach almost $120 billion annually by the end of 2028 and account for 12.7% of total grocery sales in the U.S., up 170 basis point (bps) compared to 2023.