In Grocery Delivery Apps Market, Instacart Continues to Experience Strongest Growth Trajectory

Instacart just edges ahead of Shipt in YoY growth (75%-68%) while AmazonFresh lags behind at 4%

Key Takeaways

• Instacart’s revenue was 75% higher this January than in January 2018

• AmazonFresh’s grocery delivery revenue has fallen by 6% since August 2017

• Shipt pulled in 92% more orders in January 2019 than in January 2018

With online grocery sales predicted to hit $100 billion in sales by 2025, companies are jockeying for a share of the growing market. Instacart is a strong contender, and talk has been circulating about an Instacart IPO on the horizon. The grocery delivery vendor and their former partner Whole Foods split ways in December, as Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods has led to a shift of focus to AmazonFresh. However, the change is expected to impact Instacart’s revenue by less than 5%. Meanwhile, a year on from competitor Shipt being acquired by Target, Shipt has been expanding its delivery service across the nation.

How have revenue and orders been trending for Instacart and its competitors?

Instacart has been growing rapidly: based on the Edison Trends panel of 3M shoppers, the company brought in 207% more January revenue than Shipt, and 662% more than AmazonFresh. Instacart has also grown an impressive 179% since August 2017, and 75% since January of last year. Shipt has grown 171% and 60% in those same intervals, while AmazonFresh has fallen 6% since August 2017 and grown 5% since twelve months ago.

On average, the three merchants together have seen revenue increase by 136% since eighteen months ago, and 63% since a year ago.

Figure 1a. Chart shows estimated trend of grocery delivery revenue according to Edison Trends. "1x" means "1x AmazonFresh’s revenue during August 2017."


In December, Instacart had 552% more customer orders than Shipt, and 197% more than AmazonFresh. Instacart has grown its order volume 185% since August 2017, and 79% since December of last year. In the same periods, Shipt has grown its orders 197% and 92%, and AmazonFresh has fallen 16% since eighteen months ago, and grown 4% since twelve months ago.

On average, the three merchants together have seen orders increase by 130% since August 2017, and 69% since a year ago.

Figure 1b. Chart shows estimated trend of grocery delivery orders according to Edison Trends. "1x" means "1x AmazonFresh’s revenue during August 2017."


How do YOY revenue and orders compare for grocery delivery brands?

Shipt saw the highest percent growth figure compared to a year ago, pulling in 92% more orders in January 2019 than in 2018—though revenue growth was not as impressive. Instacart showed 75-79% growth in both revenue and orders, while AmazonFresh experienced only a slight 4-5% growth in each.

Figure 2. Chart shows estimated YOY increase in grocery delivery revenue and orders according to Edison Trends.


How has market share changed for these brands in the last year?

Looking at market share among these three companies for January and comparing to last January, Shipt has retained the same slice of the market, at 22%. Instacart has grown by five percentage points to 69%, and AmazonFresh has dropped by five.

Figures 3a and 3b. Charts show estimated grocery delivery market share, based on revenue, according to Edison Trends.


*The data shown is based on a sample of anonymized and aggregated e-receipts from more than 3 million consumers in the United States.

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