U.S. food retail industry - statistics & facts

How big is the U.S. food retail industry?

In the United States, retail and food services sales amounted to just over 6.2 trillion U.S. dollars in 2020, increasing for the eleventh successive year. The total number of supermarkets and other grocery stores in the U.S. has declined slightly to about 63 thousand. Supermarket and other grocery stores sales hit an estimated 742 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, which accounted for nearly 86 percent of the U.S. food and beverage retail market . As of January 2021, Walmart operated 4,743 stores, and its U.S. segment generated net sales of 370 billion U.S. dollars.

Online developments in the food retail industry

Shoppers in the United States tend to prefer supermarkets over other channels when purchasing food and products for everyday use, but this could all be about to change. Despite the physical store remaining the leading sales channel for edible groceries , the digital segment is expected to show promising growth in the coming years. More Americans are heading to websites to place grocery orders, and online sales are forecast to capture ten percent of the total grocery market in 2021. Greater convenience and improved delivery options are among the reasons why online grocery shopping sales in the United States are projected to reach nearly 190 billion U.S. dollars by 2024. Shoppers can now purchase groceries online through multiple platforms and channels, including online services offered by conventional food retail stores such as Walmart. Despite growing competition, the company still captures around 47 percent of grocery delivery and pickup sales.

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