Rapid grocery delivery goes mainstream for full-basket shopping

Speed has become a routine way to buy groceries

Rapid grocery delivery started out as the option shoppers used when they forgot an ingredient. A growing body of data now shows it has become a routine way to fill the weekly basket. In a U.S. online grocery survey, Coresight Research described rapid delivery as a "mainstream fulfillment option." It found that 37.9% of online grocery shoppers had used a rapid service for "most" or "all, or almost all" of their digital grocery buying over the previous year.21 The firm surveyed more than 2,000 consumers in June and counted same-day delivery, or delivery in under two hours, as "rapid."25

The headline figure hides a more striking split. A quarter of respondents (25.5%) said rapid delivery handled all or almost all of their online grocery orders, and just over 12% said it handled most of them.25 Usage is also rising. More than 45% said they had used rapid delivery somewhat or much more over the past year, and 36% said their usage had stayed the same.25 Coresight's advice to retailers was to market these services as a place to buy a full basket, not just a last-minute fix.21

The survey came out in July. Data released since then makes it look less like a snapshot and more like the start of a lasting shift.

What shoppers are actually buying

The strongest evidence that rapid delivery has outgrown emergency top-ups is what goes into the bag. Coresight found that nearly 53% of rapid-delivery users had bought packaged non-fresh food through these services in the past year. Just over half had bought fresh fruit and vegetables, and 49% had bought fresh dairy, meat, fish or eggs.22 The firm read the high share of perishables as a sign that shoppers increasingly trust rapid services with fresh food. Some respondents said a shorter delivery window actually protects freshness and lets them restock perishables more often without making a trip to the store.22

This matters because fresh food has long been the physical supermarket's strongest advantage. If shoppers will order produce and protein for delivery within the hour, one of the main reasons to visit a store gets weaker.

The broader online grocery boom backs up the finding

Coresight's numbers sit inside a much larger wave of online grocery growth, which analytics firm Brick Meets Click has tracked month by month. U.S. online grocery sales rose 20.7% year over year in the third quarter of 2026 and reached a record 20.9% of total grocery spending.5 Growth has topped 20% for eight quarters in a row, driven by more frequent orders and a growing base of monthly users.4 In September, monthly active users reached nearly 64% of U.S. households, a new high, and 81% of households have now bought groceries online at least once.4

The pace eased slightly in September, with sales up just over 16% from a year earlier after gains of almost 25% in August and 21.5% in July.2 Even so, a slower month in a run of double-digit growth does not suggest demand is fading.

Speed shows up clearly in the Brick Meets Click numbers too. In the first quarter, same-day orders made up nearly 80% of delivery orders and more than 30% of ship-to-home orders. Ultra-fast orders, delivered in an hour or less, made up 18% of delivery orders.8 Earlier reporting on the firm's data found that ultra-fast delivery and same-day fresh ship-to-home were growing almost three times faster than pickup.7

Where the data agree and where they don't

The surveys agree that delivery is pulling away from pickup. Coresight found that 66.7% of online grocery shoppers mainly had orders delivered, compared with 31.2% who mainly picked them up. That 35.5-point gap has grown steadily since 2022, when the two were roughly even.25 McKinsey's research shows the same pattern. It found that delivery rose from just under half of fulfillment in 2022 to nearly 65% in 2025, and that 70% of consumers name delivery as their preferred method.30

The surveys differ on how big the online market is and how to define "rapid." Coresight found that 56.3% of U.S. consumers had bought groceries online in the past 12 months.25 Brick Meets Click puts monthly users alone at close to two-thirds of households.4 Some of the gap likely comes from different methods, such as asking individual consumers versus measuring households. Definitions also matter. Coresight's "rapid" includes all same-day delivery, while Brick Meets Click separates out sub-hour orders. That probably explains why one firm says more than a third of shoppers rely mostly on rapid delivery, while the other puts true ultra-fast orders at under a fifth of deliveries. The two findings fit together. Same-day delivery is already the norm, and sub-hour delivery is the faster-growing edge of the market.

The platform race

Coresight's survey also tracks shifts in which services people use. Walmart Express has been the most-used rapid delivery service since 2023.21 DoorDash passed Instacart for the first time, with 45.2% of respondents using it versus 43.9% for Instacart. Instacart's share has stayed in the 40s for years.21 Amazon recovered the most, with usage rising to 42% from just under 35% the year before, as it expanded its 30-minute delivery offering.21

Retailers' moves reflect the same push. In May, Walmart said it would offer delivery in 30 minutes or less in 33 U.S. markets, with more than 100,000 eligible items. It reported millions of sub-30-minute deliveries across more than 19,000 ZIP codes in the first quarter.30 Brick Meets Click says Walmart's share of U.S. online grocery sales is nearing 40%, with sub-hour delivery driving much of the growth. Amazon, meanwhile, has expanded fresh groceries in its same-day network and introduced options of three hours or less.9 Sam's Club has also rolled out one-hour express delivery nationwide.25

The trend extends beyond the U.S.

The UK is following a similar path. Tesco has launched on Deliveroo nationwide, with deliveries in as little as 20 minutes. Its in-house rapid service, Whoosh, reportedly grew sales 51% last year and serves about 1.5 million customers from roughly 1,800 stores.20 Aldi began an eight-store Deliveroo trial on October 6 and plans a national rollout in early 2027, based on its partnerships with DoorDash in the U.S. and Australia.20 Analysts at Citi think Tesco's on-demand push could add meaningfully to its growth while weighing on Sainsbury's UK grocery revenue.18

Why regional grocers should worry

The most important effect of rapid delivery is on competition. Brick Meets Click partner David Bishop has argued that fast delivery undercuts something regional supermarkets have always relied on: being physically close to customers.8 When Walmart or Amazon can deliver from a nearby store or warehouse in under an hour, being the closest store on the way home counts for much less. Bishop has framed the open question as how traditional grocers, especially regional chains, can keep growing and stay relevant without giving up margins or service quality.9

Third-party marketplaces offer regional chains one answer. DoorDash's growth in rapid delivery suggests that grocers without Walmart-scale logistics can still offer speed by partnering.21 Expanded benefits access also widens the market. DoorDash says more than 4.5 million consumers have added SNAP cards to its platform, and nearly 75,000 stores accept the benefit.13

The limits of speed

Faster does not automatically mean better. McKinsey warned that consumers strongly prefer a full product range over ultra-fast delivery with limited choice. It said grocers have to balance speed, cost and assortment rather than chase delivery times for their own sake.30 This lines up with Coresight's full-basket advice. The services winning share are fast and also carry the whole range of household essentials.

The overall picture is clear. Rapid delivery is no longer a niche product, and the market's leaders are already competing on minutes. The open question is whether anyone besides Walmart, Amazon and the big platforms can turn speed into profit, and how much of the traditional supermarket's quick-trip business survives.