Online Grocery Market: App-Based Shopping, Fast Delivery & Consumer Adoption

According to IMARC Group's latest research publication, the global online grocery market size reached USD 710.10 Billion in 2024. Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach USD 6,590.92 Billion by 2033, exhibiting a growth rate of 28.09% during 2025-2033.

How AI is Reshaping the Future of Online Grocery Market

• Personalized Product Recommendations and Shopping Experiences: AI algorithms analyze browsing histories, purchase patterns, and demographic data to deliver hyper-personalized product suggestions tailored to individual preferences. Machine learning systems predict customer needs before they're expressed, automating reorders and creating customized shopping lists that save time and enhance convenience.
• Demand Forecasting and Inventory Optimization: Predictive analytics powered by AI accurately forecast consumer demand, enabling retailers to maintain optimal stock levels and minimize waste. These systems analyze seasonal trends, weather patterns, promotional impacts, and local events to ensure fresh products arrive precisely when needed, reducing spoilage.
• Intelligent Chatbots and Virtual Shopping Assistants: Natural language processing enables AI-powered chatbots to provide instant customer support, answer product questions, and guide shoppers through purchases conversationally. These assistants handle up to 20% of e-commerce tasks, from recommendations to checkout, delivering seamless experiences across mobile apps and websites.
• Dynamic Pricing and Promotional Optimization: AI algorithms adjust pricing in real-time based on demand fluctuations, competitor pricing, inventory levels, and customer willingness to pay. Machine learning identifies optimal discount strategies and personalized offers that maximize conversion rates while maintaining profitability across diverse customer segments.
• Last-Mile Delivery and Route Optimization: Artificial intelligence optimizes delivery routes considering traffic patterns, weather conditions, order priorities, and driver locations to minimize delivery times and costs. Autonomous vehicles, delivery drones, and robotic fulfillment systems powered by AI are revolutionizing logistics efficiency and enabling faster fulfillment options.

Online Grocery Industry Overview:

The online grocery landscape is experiencing transformative growth driven by unprecedented smartphone adoption, with over 90% of Americans accessing the internet and approximately 90% owning smartphones enabling convenient mobile shopping. The shift toward digital platforms accelerated dramatically as the percentage of U.S. families purchasing groceries online increased 116% since 2019, fundamentally changing consumer shopping behaviors. Subscription-based models like Amazon Fresh and Walmart+ are gaining substantial traction, with 30% of consumers having subscribed to or accessed Walmart+ memberships by 2023. Same-day delivery services have become increasingly popular, accounting for significant percentages of online grocery orders as consumers prioritize speed and convenience. The AI in food retail and e-commerce market is projected to surge from USD 3.5 Billion in 2025 to USD 13.4 Billion by 2030, growing at 30.8% annually as retailers leverage intelligent systems for efficiency, waste reduction, and profitability. Asia Pacific dominates with 58.3% market share, driven by massive populations, rapid smartphone penetration reaching 78% by 2023, and innovative Online-to-Offline platforms gaining widespread adoption across urban households.

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Online Grocery Market Trends & Drivers:

Convenience and time-saving considerations are fundamentally driving online grocery adoption as busy consumers seek alternatives to traditional store visits involving traffic navigation, parking searches, aisle browsing, and checkout queues. American consumers spent USD 1.7 Trillion on online purchases from March 2020 to February 2022, representing a USD 609 Billion increase compared to their combined 2018-2019 spending, demonstrating massive behavioral shifts toward digital commerce. Global retail e-commerce sales are projected to exceed USD 4.1 Trillion by 2024 and continue climbing in subsequent years, reflecting permanent changes in shopping preferences across demographics. Online grocery platforms eliminate time-consuming physical store visits, allowing customers to shop anytime, anywhere using smartphones and tablets without scheduling constraints. Same-day delivery, scheduled delivery slots, and convenient click-and-collect services provide flexibility that traditional retail cannot match, particularly appealing to individuals with demanding schedules, families managing multiple responsibilities, or mobility challenges. The conversational commerce market reached USD 8.8 Billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at 14.8% annually to reach USD 32.6 Billion by 2035, powered by consumer expectations for instant answers and seamless interactions. Shoppers complete purchases 47% faster when assisted by AI according to behavioral analysis, demonstrating significant efficiency gains. The middle-class population in Asia-Pacific will increase to 3.8 Billion people by 2030 according to Asian Development Bank projections, creating enormous addressable markets for online grocery platforms targeting convenience-oriented consumers with rising disposable incomes.

Technological advancements are revolutionizing online grocery experiences through sophisticated e-commerce platforms, mobile applications with user-friendly interfaces, and AI-powered personalization capabilities. Over 50% of e-commerce companies have integrated AI into operations, deploying machine learning for personalized recommendations, predictive analytics for inventory management, and advanced logistics technologies facilitating efficient, faster delivery services. The AI-enabled e-commerce market reached USD 8.65 Billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 22.60 Billion by 2032, growing at 14.60% annually as retailers invest heavily in intelligent systems. According to NVIDIA surveys, 97% of retailers plan to increase AI spending in the next fiscal year, signaling clear shifts from testing to fully embedding AI into core e-commerce operations. Approximately 71% of e-commerce sites currently offer product recommendations, with Nordic countries reporting 90% of shoppers encountering personalized recommendations, demonstrating widespread adoption. Voice-enabled shopping through smart home integrations is gaining momentum, with 81% of Americans using voice technology daily or weekly and 20% of voice assistant users appreciating the convenience for shopping tasks. Grocers are deploying AI for multiple use cases including product forecasting, demand prediction, food waste minimization, and aisle-scanning robots that monitor stock levels and product performance. AI is projected to unlock USD 136 Billion in value across the grocery sector by 2030, with largest impacts in supply chain and logistics (USD 67.7 Billion) and merchandising (USD 25.7 Billion). These technological innovations are creating seamless, efficient shopping experiences that meet evolving consumer expectations.

The expansion of mobile commerce and omnichannel retail strategies is accelerating online grocery growth as smartphones become primary shopping devices and retailers integrate digital platforms with traditional brick-and-mortar operations. Major grocery chains have significantly ramped up online offerings, investing heavily in e-commerce platforms and adopting omnichannel strategies allowing customers to shop online with in-store pickup or home delivery options. Local and independent grocery stores are embracing e-commerce through third-party platform partnerships or proprietary online services to remain competitive in the digital age. In April 2024, quick delivery comprised 45% of India's USD 11 Billion online grocery business, with rapid commerce projected to reach 70% of the market as it grows to USD 60 Billion by 2030. Over 30% of urban households in China purchase through Online-to-Offline platforms, demonstrating massive quick-commerce adoption in major metropolitan areas. Companies like Rappi and Mercado Libre in Latin America have extended offerings by utilizing AI to optimize last-mile deliveries and provide personalized recommendations, with over 40% of consumers adopting mobile payment systems that simplify transactions. The integration of digital payment systems including India's Unified Payments Interface makes online transactions seamless, while subscription services and partnerships with local farmers bring fresh products directly to consumers. In GCC countries, smartphone penetration rose to over 70% in 2023, with 40% of customers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates habitually shopping online for groceries. These converging trends position online grocery as essential retail infrastructure serving modern consumer lifestyles across diverse global markets.

Leading Companies Operating in the Global Online Grocery Industry:

• Amazon.com, Inc.
• Carrefour
• Costco Wholesale Corporation
• Edeka Group
• HappyFresh
• Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V.
• Reliance Retail Limited (Reliance Industries Limited)
• Safeway Inc. (Albertsons Companies, Inc.)
• Schwan's Home Delivery
• ShopFoodEx
• Tesco PLC
• The Kroger Co.
• Walmart Inc.
• Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited

Online Grocery Market Report Segmentation:

By Product Type:

• Vegetables and Fruits
• Dairy Products
• Staples and Cooking Essentials
• Snacks
• Meat and Seafood
• Others

Staples and cooking essentials lead with 28.9% market share, driven by universal household needs, high repeat purchase rates, and convenience of bulk ordering essential cooking ingredients online.

By Business Model:

• Pure Marketplace
• Hybrid Marketplace
• Others

Pure marketplace dominates the segment, facilitating connections between sellers and buyers without inventory ownership, offering vast product assortments and scalability advantages.

By Platform:

• Web-Based
• App-Based

App-based platforms are the leading segment, offering personalized experiences with push notifications, quick reordering capabilities, and on-the-go shopping convenience appealing to tech-savvy younger demographics.

By Purchase Type:

• One-Time
• Subscription

Subscription leads with 58.0% market share, providing automated replenishment of essentials, personalized experiences, discounted pricing, free delivery benefits, and predictable revenue streams for retailers.

Regional Insights:

• North America (United States, Canada)
• Europe (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Russia, Others)
• Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Others)
• Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Others)
• Middle East and Africa (Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Others)

Asia Pacific dominates with 58.3% market share, driven by massive populations, widespread smartphone adoption, expanding middle classes, innovative delivery models, and seamless integration of e-commerce with traditional retail.

Recent News and Developments in Online Grocery Market:

• October 2025: Indonesian e-commerce leader Blibli launched BlibliFresh, an online grocery service emphasizing freshness, quick delivery, and dependability. The platform addresses consumer concerns about late deliveries and product quality, offering one-hour delivery and easy returns.
• September 2025: Amazon UK announced plans to enhance online grocery delivery by strengthening collaborations with Morrisons, Co-op, Iceland, and Gopuff. The company will increase Prime members' grocery delivery access by over twofold and launch Same-Day Delivery for fresh products in 2026.
• September 2025: Naver and Kurly introduced Kurly N Mart, a premium online grocery service in Naver Plus Store. It offers unique, carefully selected fresh food products including Kurly's own brands, with next-morning delivery through Kurly's cold-chain system, challenging Coupang's dominance in Korea's online grocery sector.
• August 2025: Amazon introduced same-day fresh grocery delivery in 1,000 cities across the U.S., including Phoenix, Orlando, and Kansas City. The company plans to extend this service to 2,300 cities by year-end, offering complimentary shipping for Prime users.
• May 2025: Portuguese supermarket chain Pingo Doce launched Pingo Doce Online in Lisbon and Porto. The updated platform integrates in-store promotions with its loyalty program, providing uniform, managed customer experiences.

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