Grocery stores have become the hub of consumer shopping during the current virus pandemic, and online ordering for delivery or curbside pickup is spiking. So it’s no surprise that Walmart Grocery’s mobile order and pay app reached the top spot for all U.S. daily downloads in the first week of April, according to App Annie. Grocery warehouses and delivery networks are stretched to beyond capacity as consumer demand is off the charts. One question now is what will happen to online grocery sales once the virus case curve is flattened. Many grocery customers no doubt will continue their mobile order and pay habits. Estimates for U.S. online grocery sales come in around 3% pre-COVID-19. But now we could be looking at the online grocery channel doubling and reaching to 5-6% of total sales for 2020.

The following Grocery Dive article reports more on this topic which is excerpted below:

The Walmart Grocery app has seen all-time highs in downloads and now ranks No. 1 among shopping apps in the U.S. as of April 7, 2020, according to a new analysis from tech firm App Annie.

Walmart’s app has surpassed downloads of the Amazon app by 20%, the research found. Walmart Grocery saw 460% growth in average daily downloads as of April 5 compared to January of this year. Amazon, meanwhile, saw 20% growth in daily downloads over the same period.

The Walmart Grocery app retained its top position for at least two days, according to the analysis. Last Thursday it was the top app on Google Play and the No. 2 app in Apple’s app store, TechCrunch reported.

Overview provided by Raymond Pucci, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group.

For the original article quoted in this coverage, please click here.