Consumers are constantly in search of convenience, particularly in the form of timesaving. In the past 12 months, numerous direct-to-consumer (D2C) meal plan services have emerged, offering consumers an alternative solution to home cooking without paying a dreaded visit to the grocery store—or spending time trying to figure out a recipe.

Lunch and dinner subscription company MealPal started out as a service through which consumers could pick up meals from local restaurants during the work week—but, like many in the food industry, it has adjusted its operations for quarantined customers. The company now offers groceries supplied by local restaurants via MealPal Market.

Busy, dual-income households increasingly demand time-saving meals, but don't want to sacrifice quality. For many, the go-to solution has been meal kits, which marketers have touted as healthy, convenient alternatives to traditional home cooking.

Overall, consumers are turning to some iteration of online grocery to meet their needs, whether it’s through a company’s website or by subscribing to meal kits.

Sales can occur through channels outside of traditional grocers or supermarkets, such as warehouse clubs and superstores, convenience stores, gas stations, pharmacy/drug stores, and online delivery and meal-kit subscription services. Grocery Ecommerce Sales by Fulfillment Method. Delivery: Sales of grocery products ordered using the internet for home or work delivery.

Subscriptions like Netflix and Spotify have successfully transformed the way people engage with media, but retail subscriptions are yet to transform the way people shop. So far, retail subscription boxes have seen momentum within the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category—think companies like Blue Apron, Dollar Shave Club and Birchbox. Despite the waves these companies have made, are consumers actually ready to automate their purchases of everyday goods?

Meal-kit subscription app usage reaches a modest 6% of US mobile device users, according to Bizrate Insights. Usage skews more female (8%) than male (4%) and toward the 18- to 34-year-old (7%) and 35- to 54-year-old (8%) demographics. There is a use case for subscription meal kits, though perhaps not as strong as once thought.

Meal kits are experiencing an uptick in popularity as more people practice social distancing and turn to alternatives to limit their grocery store shopping.

Subscription fatigue be damned. More than a third of Americans believe they will increase the number of subscription services they use in the next two years, but interest isn’t the same across all categories.

They could also suggest meal subscription services, personal nutrition counseling or fitness training. The predictive abilities of AI will also help marketers alert audiences when they are about to miss an appointment, when something in their routine seems amiss or when a system or appliance needs maintenance.

Over the past few weeks, online grocery stores and meal kits have seen a stream of orders coming in, not only from existing customers, but also new ones looking to avoid physical stores during the pandemic. Plant-based meal company Splendid Spoon is one of those receiving demand.

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