Article: On-demand delivery services power up across the globe. Article: In 2021, online grocery sales will surpass $100 billion. Article: Digital restaurant marketplace sales have more than doubled in 2020.

Grocery and CPG Set to Benefit Most. Across Western Europe, digital grocery buying increased massively in the wake of the pandemic. In Italy, for example, groceries accounted for just 3.1% of ecommerce sales in 2019, or about €1.50 billion ($1.68 billion), according to Casaleggio Associati.

In 2021, expect to see a convergence of content and commerce, led by the likes of Peloton, Lululemon, Nike and Apple. Amazon and Google are also getting into the act as well with Halo and Fitbit, and emerging services offerings.

Food delivery apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and SkipTheDishes—a Winnipeg-based homegrown competitor to the US-based services—had already established a foothold before the pandemic. The greater need for delivery last year elevated their influence in food service, even though the fees they charge have raised concerns in the restaurant industry and for regulators.

Justin Rosenberg, CEO and founder of honeygrow, speaks with eMarketer vice president of business development Marissa Coslov about flipping its dining-in model to 100% mobile app orders with the help of third-party delivery providers.

Despite the overwhelming consumer demand for grocery delivery, Amazon has reliably met communicated delivery times (though delivery windows can be scarce). But the imperfect conditions under which Amazon is currently delivering groceries could be a lot worse.

The growth of the online category accelerated beyond our previous expectations in 2020. Amid the pandemic, tens of millions of US consumers became online grocery buyers for the first time, according to our latest forecast on US grocery sales. In 2021, this behavior will go from trial to habit for many shoppers.

Online grocery took off dramatically in 2020 as a result of the pandemic; that’s no surprise to anyone. According to our estimates, food and beverage was by far the fastest-growing ecommerce category in the US in 2020. Given its low penetration and high sales growth, digital grocery is the next big opportunity in ecommerce.

In addition to see a boost in new customers in the past few months, FreshDirect also saw a surge of orders coming in from existing customers who moved away from the city. And as a result, the company expanded its delivery services in Westchester, Connecticut and Long Island to meet demand in these areas.

There’s Walmart Express Delivery, a 2-hour delivery service for groceries and other items, and Walmart+, a Prime-like subscription service that offers members unlimited free delivery and other perks. In its Q4 2020 earnings report, Walmart said its ecommerce business had its highest quarterly growth rate of the year, mentioning grocery and delivery services in the US specifically.

Offering fresh grocery delivery won't matter if it's not on time

eMarketer principal analysts Nicole Perrin and Andrew Lipsman, along with vice president of content studio Paul Verna, examine the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on grocery delivery, highlight how companies and individuals are coming up with innovative solutions, and point out examples of positive, and not-so-positive, corporate responses.

With much of the US still under stay-at-home orders, consumers are growing more accustomed to grocery shopping online. Brick-and-mortars, delivery startups and ecommerce retailers are adapting to the new normal, but even leaders in online grocery like Amazon and Walmart have struggled to keep up with demand.

Walmart’s expansion of Delivery Unlimited, its grocery delivery membership, is the latest attempt by a major retailer to make online grocery shopping more appealing. But better delivery value only addresses cost—not quality.