US food and beverage ecommerce sales will approach $80 billion in 2022, up 20.7% from nearly $65 billion last year. While the growth is impressive, it’s far slower than the 99.0% surge the category saw in 2020, when wary consumers pivoted to buying online at the onset of the pandemic.

Amazon’s two fastest-growing ecommerce categories this year will be health, personal care, and beauty as well as food and beverage.

The plant-based foods industry needs to change: As the category expands its customer base beyond vegetarians, it needs to cut prices and improve its products.

Auto and parts and food and beverage will be the fastest-growing ecommerce categories; both will see double-digit growth but from a relatively small base.

Across almost all product categories, US luxury shoppers are far more likely to make purchases in-store than online. Physical retail had the widest lead in the food and beverage category, followed by watches and jewelry. Digital got the upper hand in only fashion and travel, suggesting that for many tangible luxury goods, shoppers prefer to see and feel them before spending big bucks.

The share of food and beverage ecommerce sales in the UK will rebound to pre-pandemic levels in the coming years.

The pandemic skyrocketed consumers' digital shopping habits within the food and beverage space, driving online sales at companies like Drizly. We estimate that US food and beverage sales will increase nearly 21% year over year (YoY) in 2022. Insider Intelligence: What opportunities do you see for smart technologies in improving ecommerce?

Food and beverage (20.7% YoY growth): This category was growing swiftly from a low base prior to 2020. But the pandemic was a huge accelerator of digital-grocery adoption, which has driven online sales of food and beverage. This change in behavior will stick post-pandemic, further driving ecommerce sales.

Memberships like Walmart+ offer free shipping without order minimums for packaged food and beverage items, but same-day grocery delivery carries a $35 minimum. Amazon Prime members also get free shipping, but same-day grocery delivery through Amazon Fresh requires a minimum between $35 and $50 depending on the region.