U.S. e-grocery sales rise 19% in the first quarter
Consumer spending on online grocery rose 19% in the first quarter of 2026, which followed a 20% gain in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to Brick Meets Click. The analytics firm reports six consecutive quarters of online grocery growth fueled in part by better fulfillment centers and faster delivery times.
Fulfillment center improvements include ultra-fast delivery and same-day ship-to-home of fresh groceries, which better meet the demand for quick trips to the physical store, the report notes. The innovations have allowed Amazon and Walmart to capture more market share by expanding share-of-wallet within their respective customer bases.
In addition, while online grocery pickup continues to post healthy gains, its growth rate is being outpaced by delivery and ship-to-home, which are growing nearly three times as fast as pickup.
The report found that total grocery share spending climbed every quarter. Over the past six quarters, the share has grown to more than 19% to end the first quarter of 2025. When excluding the ship-to-home orders, total spending jumped 16% over the same period.
During the first quarter, Brick Meets Click estimates that same-day e-grocery orders accounted for nearly 80% of delivery orders and over 30% of ship-to-home orders across all retail formats. Ultra-fast fulfillment within one hour or less made up 18% of all delivery orders and 10% of ship-to-home orders.
Walmart and Amazon have each capitalized on these shifts in demand to expand their dominant positions, the report notes. Walmart has achieved larger share gains than Amazon and is now approaching a 40% share of total U.S. e-grocery sales. Delivery has propelled the growth, specifically via orders received within one hour of checkout.
Brick Meets Click also reports that Amazon captured its share gains by expanding the availability of fresh groceries within its same-day fulfillment network, which recently introduced sub-same-day options with even faster cycle times.
Rapid delivery is “undercutting one of the core strategic advantages that regional grocers or supermarkets have historically enjoyed in the physical world, which is proximity to the customer,” said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click.
Amazon’s 30-minute delivery service, Amazon Now, already serves several major markets, including Atlanta, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Philadelphia and Seattle. The company plans to bring the service to dozens more cities by the end of 2026.
Walmart offers its 30-minute service in 33 markets, noting that its network of stores gives it “a significant opportunity to continue expanding delivery capabilities to more communities over time.” While Walmart formally announced the 30-minute service on May 28, it has been fulfilling orders that fast for more than a year, according to the retailer. Walmart also recently announced that it would begin providing 30-minute restaurant delivery starting with Subway locations in select stores.
Bishop said Amazon and Walmart pose a potent threat because they can deliver basic goods that people are highly familiar with and buy often.
“Given this competitive activity, the big question for traditional grocers – and especially regionals – is how they will accelerate growth and remain relevant while protecting profit margins and the customer experience,” said Bishop. “To provide some answers, we have integrated growth opportunity mapping into this year’s e-grocery performance benchmarking initiative.”
Bishop said the 2026 benchmarking initiative is open to qualifying regional grocers who operate a first-party e-commerce site and/or mobile app.
“Our goal is to help regionals (grocery stores) identify and prioritize the specific opportunities that will drive stronger financial and operational results over the next one to two years,” Bishop said. “With outputs beginning to flow in late August, the timing is designed to directly support a grocer’s annual planning process.”