Sept 2026: eGrocery sales up just over 16% year-over-year

Top-line: While online grocery momentum slowed slightly for September compared to July and August, it remained strong as monthly eGrocery sales grew over 16% versus last year, according to the Brick Meets Click Grocery Shopping Survey fielded September 28 – 30, 2026.

September’s sales gain was driven by a record high for monthly active users (MAUs), up 3.0% year-over-year (YOY), and a significant jump in the average number of orders completed by MAUs during the month, a metric which has grown YOY for the past 25 months.  The average order value (AOV) growth across all three methods was challenged, just up 3.6% both in nominal dollars and on a YOY basis.

September 2026: Strong growth in MAUs and order frequency rates fueled sales growth.

Monthly active users (MAUs) expanded by 3.0% in Sept. ’26 versus a year ago.

• September recorded a record large MAU base, as 64% of all U.S. households bought groceries online during the month, whether that was for a single item or a basket of products.  The monthly penetration level increased by 105 basis points (bps) versus last year.
• Delivery once again recorded the strongest YOY MAU base gains of the three receiving methods on a percent basis. The relative gains in Delivery’s MAU base were more than three times as large as the gains posted by Pickup during September ’26.

Average order frequency (AOF) climbed 9.0% YOY as newer service offerings have become more broadly available.

• The core age group, 30 – 44-year-olds, posted above-average YOY gains with order frequency jumping 13% over the same period.
• September ’26 marked the 25th consecutive month of YOY gains in this metric.

Average order value (AOV) remained challenged, up <4% compared to ’25.

• Ship-to-Home was the only method to report stronger AOV on a YOY basis, growing 10.0% versus September ’25.  Pickup and Delivery both saw AOV dip 1.6% and 2.5% respectively between the two periods.
• Delivery’s AOV faced headwinds related to the growth in sub-same day orders (defined as within three hours of order placement), and these accounted for approximately two-thirds of Delivery’s orders during the month.

Cross-shopping: Grocery MAUs are increasingly also buying from Walmart and Amazon

Walmart: The percent of Grocery MAUs that also bought online from Walmart during the same month continued to climb, expanding 420 bps versus a year ago to 29%.  Households with annual income between $50 and $99.9K drove most of the YOY gains as this group’s cross-shopping has steadily climbed over the last several years.

Amazon: The share of Grocery MAUs completing one or more orders with Amazon, across any of the three methods, inched up 40 bps to 50% this year, while the share doing so using only Amazon pure-play, or Ship-to-Home services contracted 540 bps to just under 14%. Part of the contraction related to a shift in demand toward its ultra-rapid Delivery (within 30 minutes).

Get an outside objective perspective

The continued expansion of cross-shopping behavior with these two rivals reinforces the need for today’s Grocery retailers to remain up to date in their understanding of what factors are affecting customers’ experiences and expectations when shopping for groceries online.  

Brick Meet Click’s tailored support services help grocery retailers fill in the blanks, so you can know more and guess less.