Top Line

Conventional grocery stores in the top-performing quartile generated averageweekly online grocery sales of $43,895, 6.3 times higher than the median salesof $6,934 for rest of the stores, according to the Brick Meets ClickeGrocery Performance Benchmarking 2021 Wave . A dramatically higher average order value (AOV) was one factor that influencedthe strong performance of these top-quartile stores.

“Grocers are well aware that many variables affect performance across theirbase of stores, but they need to occasionally challenge or retest assumptions aboutgrowth drivers as selling online evolves and matures,” said David Bishop,Partner at Brick Meets Click. “This quartile analysis reinforced that excellingat selling online – like operating a physical store – requires both a soundstrategy and effective execution.”

Sponsored by Mercatus , Hussmann , and Cardlytics , the research analyzed transactional sales data linked to non-personallyidentified households of nearly 950 stores from 45 U.S. banners and isthe largest independently conducted grocery benchmarking initiativecompleted to date.

Customer Metric Insights: Part 3*

The top-quartile analysis findings revealed insights into how order value, location, age, and range ofservices contribute to the significant performance gap between the top-performingstores and the others.

Larger orders: The AOV at the top stores was46% higher, as customers spent nearly $126 per order, compared to $86 at the lower-quartilestores.

The availability of alcohol, whether beer only, beer and wine, or beer,wine, and liquor, likely played a role in the higher AOVs, as 90% of thetop-quartile stores sold alcohol online while only 60% of the others did.

Store Location: Where a store is located is notas significant a factor as some may believe.

Analyzing per-store performance within the top quartile based on tradearea population generally revealed an inverse relationship between populationsize and sales performance. In other words, top-quartile stores operating inzip codes with a population under 10,000 reported 31% higher weekly sales thanstores in areas with a population over 40,000. In contrast, sales at stores inthe lower quartiles increased as the size of the population did.

Age of Service: Top-quartile stores have maturedmuch better than the rest.

Top-quartile stores had operated online longer as 50% have done so forfour or more years as compared to 34% of the others. Only 10% of thetop-quartile stores had operated for less than one year versus 25% of all otherstores.

Range of Service: Offering multiple ways toreceive an online order mattered the most.

Top-quartile stores were 1.5 times more likely to offer both Pickup and Deliveryservices. In fact, 67% of the top-quartile group offered both services, while only44% of the others did.

Top-quartile stores that offered both Pickup and Delivery generatedweekly sales that were 39% higher than top-quartile stores that only offered one service.

Sponsor Appreciation & Message

We thank the teams at Mercatus , Cardlytics , Hussmann for their generous support of this important research.

“It’s helpful for groceryexecutives to consider what factors may be preventing their online grocerybusiness from performing at the same level as the top quartile,” said SylvainPerrier, president and CEO, Mercatus. “The same factors that go to making onelocation successful in terms of online sales will not necessarily translate toall locations. The best performers likely have ironed out their operationalwrinkles, resulting in the best possible fulfillment experience for customers.Meanwhile, the level of marketing investment directed to promoting onlineservice options also will have an impact over time.”

*eGrocery Performance Benchmark Reports

Thecomplete results of the Brick Meets Click eGrocery PerformanceBenchmarking 2021 Wave is being released in a series of three reports:

1. Top-line Performance Findings (released late January) focuses on key causal factorsthat can impact top-line performance, such as how long a service hasoperated,what services are offered by each store, and where the store operates.These findings were discussed in the Feb. 3 webinar featuring DanSullentrup of Hussmann . Click here to watch now .
2. Key Customer Metrics (released late February) explores key eGrocery metrics, ranging fromattracting new customers to growing sales from existing ones, supportedby additional perspective from Cardlytics .Findings will be discussed a public webinar, featuring David Bishop ofBrick Meets Click and Andrew Van Aken of Cardlytics. Click here to watch now .
3. Top-Quartile Analysis releases in late May, and will highlight factors and issues that canshow grocers how they can further improve performance with practicalguidance from Mercatus .

About this research

The Brick Meets ClickeGrocery Performance Benchmarking is an annual initiative based on ePOS dataprovided by participating retailers. It began in 2016 with 17 grocery storebanners and has grown to 45 banners for 2021.

The 2021 wave generated keyinsights based on an analysis of comparable 12-week periods during 2021 and2020, examining performance across three 4-week periods (8, 9 and 10) ending withSeptember 28, 2021.

The study examines the critical businessquestions related to improving strategy and execution when operating afirst-party ecommerce shopping service.

Related Posts

> 2021 eGrocery Benchmarks Part 1 : 6.8% drop in online sales for Conventional Grocers YOY

> 2021 eGrocery Benchmarks Part 2 : Established Customers Drive 3.5 Times More eGrocery Revenue than New Ones