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But slower now. Month-over-month sales spiked 37% in April for a total of $5.3 billion, 24% in May to $6.6 billion, and 9% in June to $7.2 billion, according to a Brick Meets Click/Mercatus grocery survey. Tie that timeline to the pandemic, and while online grocery sales are still growing, they're losing momentum as COVID-19 continues.
The study was conducted on June 24 and 25, and since then, cases have surged in the U.S. If online sales growth continues to slow despite the uptick, it could indicate that people are getting used to the whole idea of a pandemic and returning to stores anyway.
Foot traffic's returning as the pandemic goes on
According to a continuously updated chart from SafeGraph, foot traffic to supermarkets has been rising in fits and starts since an initial drop-off in March.
Why? Well, picking the perfect avocado is an art form best perfected in person. Put another way by The Atlantic: Grocery stores are "one of the last bastions of normal American life."
Our prediction: Once coronavirus cases fall, many shoppers will return to stores to squish and sniff produce once again. But with 35% of U.S. households saying they use online grocery delivery as of June, they're likely to outsource shopping to a courier sometimes, too.