From click to cold: Why faster grocery eCommerce requires more flexible infrastructure

[Viable Food News Desk]

Publisher: Grocery Dive
Published: September 21, 2026
Source: Read at Grocery Dive
Category: Food Access

U.S. eGrocery sales maintained year-over-year growth above 20% for six consecutive quarters through Q1 2026, while online grocery's share of total spending rose from less than 15% at the end of Q3 2024 to more than 19% in Q1 2026. Brick Meets Click reported that sales increased 21.5% year over year in July 2026, with average order frequency up 14.9% and delivery accounting for 60% of year-over-year sales growth, while in-store grocery sales declined 2.6%. Same-day orders represented nearly 80% of delivery orders and more than 30% of ship-to-home orders in Q1 2026, and those orders grew nearly three times as fast as pickup. The article says retailers may need flexible cold-storage capacity as stores handle traditional shopping, pickup, delivery staging, and local fulfillment, with Refrigeration as a Service offered as one way to add modular capacity without treating every need as a permanent construction or equipment purchase.

Why this matters: Independent grocers may face more pressure on backroom refrigeration as shoppers order more often and expect faster fulfillment. Flexible refrigeration could let stores test or expand online services without committing immediately to permanent infrastructure.

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