Consumers are buying more groceries online

Adobe just revealed online shopping trends from 2022, including growth of groceries and furniture; an increase in consumers using buy now, pay later (BNPL); and a drop in curbside pickup.

The analytics firm used data based on more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail websites, 100 million different products, and 18 categories.

Grocery ecommerce continues to grow

Adobe identified strong growth in the grocery and home furnishing categories. 

Ecommerce grocery spending grew 10.8% in 2022 over spending in 2021, Adobe found, leading to $86.8 billion in consumer spending. Grocery sales have been shifting online since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Some consumers continued to buy groceries online even as stores reopened and many businesses resumed normal operations.

In an October 2022 survey of 1,000 online shoppers, 45% told Digital Commerce 360 that they’d ordered groceries online at some point. Just under one-third of online shoppers (29%) said they ordered groceries online routinely or occasionally, and another 16% tried for the first time during the pandemic.

The Kroger Co., one of the largest grocery chains in the U.S. and No. 8 on Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the Top 1000 North American ecommerce retailers, recently reported growing online sales. Digital purchases were up 12% year over year in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 28, 2023.

“Despite the easing of pandemic-related shopping behaviors that led to a significant increase in online shopping, more and more customers are incorporating ecommerce into their daily permanent routine,” CEO Rodney McMullen told investors.

Growing expenses made BNPL more attractive

More consumers turned to buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services in 2022 than in previous years, according to Adobe’s data. Online purchases made with BNPL were up 14% in 2022 over 2021, and revenue from BNPL purchases grew 27% year over year. Adobe did not share the total portion of online orders that use BNPL.

BNPL trends are shifting in 2023 so far, according to early data. In January and February 2023, BNPL use increased 10% year over year, while revenue decreased 19% over the same period. This shows that shoppers are using payment plans to fund lower-priced purchases, possibly as a result of inflation.