US eGrocery sales soar to record $12.5 billion in September, up 31% year-on-year

US eGrocery sales reached a record $12.5 billion in September 2025, marking a 31 percent increase year-on-year, according to the latest Brick Meets Click Grocery Shopper Survey. 

This is the second consecutive month that the category has set a new high, capturing its largest share of total grocery spending since the early pandemic period.

The sales jump was fueled by a 13 percent yearly rise in monthly active users (MAUs), mainly driven by re-engaged shoppers who had not purchased online in two to three months. All three fulfillment methods—delivery, pickup, and ship-to-home—recorded gains in active users, with the former hitting an all-time high.

Shoppers aged 60 and older accounted for nearly half of the year-on-year MAU growth. 

The sustained growth of frequency and spending metrics 

The average number of orders per active online grocery shopper rose 9 percent in September, continuing a 13-month streak of year-on-year gains in ordering frequency.  

The increase was led by a greater share of MAUs placing three or more online orders during the month.

Smaller metropolitan areas posted the strongest relative growth in frequency, nearly doubling the increase rate seen in larger markets.

Average order value (AOV) also rose. Combined AOV for pickup and delivery increased nearly 8 percent, with Supermarket, Mass, and Dollar retailers all seeing gains. Hard discounters and Club formats recorded even larger jumps. 

Ship-to-home AOV grew by almost 11 percent, driven primarily by Amazon’s pure-play grocery services and its expansion into same-day fresh delivery.

Click to cart: Online share of grocery spend nears pandemic levels

Online sales captured nearly 19 percent of total grocery spending in September—up 400 basis points from the previous year. This marks the second-highest level since May 2020.

At the same time, in-store grocery sales showed signs of stalling.  For the January-September 2025 period, year-on-year growth slowed to under 1.5 percent, compared to 3 percent in the same period of 2024.

“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 eGrocery order with Mass during September versus 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 year-over-year, even though it remains significantly lower than Walmart.”

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