Have You Heard of E-Grocery?
The term ‘e-grocery’ is short for ‘electronic grocery’ and refers to digital supermarkets. Essentially, it allows consumers to shop for groceries and wholesale goods online.
This segment has been experiencing significant growth within e-commerce, attracting more and more consumers and encouraging merchants to digitize their operations. The pandemic accelerated this trend, with 76% of Brazilians starting to shop for groceries online, according to a study by Bain & Company.
Although food and beverage categories still rely on physical retail as their main sales channel, e-grocery online sales reached R$ 7.29 billion in 2023, marking a 16.6% increase compared to 2022. This segment accounted for 3.93% of Brazil’s digital sales.
Major retail chains in Brazil understand how important digital sales are for their business. According to financial reports, Pão de Açúcar hit R$ 503 million in digital sales in Q1 2024, aaa growth of 25.1% compared to the previous year. Carrefour saw food sales skyrocket 117.5% in the same period, reaching R$ 1.2 billion.
If you operate in this segment and are considering launching a digital front, keep reading to explore:
- What e-grocery is;
- The challenges of growing e-grocery in Brazil;
- How to enable recurring purchases and boost your sales;
- How PagStream®, PagBrasil’s subscription management platform, can contribute to your success.
E-grocery, or online supermarket shopping, is the process of purchasing groceries and wholesale goods (such as food, beverages, hygiene products, and cleaning supplies) through the internet without leaving home. Customers place orders online, select their preferred delivery options, and receive their products at the specified address.
A few years ago, grocery shopping was primarily done in physical stores. However, with the rise of e-commerce—fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic—even food and beverage purchases have gained significant traction in the digital space.
A study by consulting firm Ebit/Nielsen found that in 2020, online supermarket sales increased by 96%. Growth was notable across various product categories, including:
- Dairy and cold cuts (+106%)
- Fruits and Vegetables(+93%)
- Meat (+59%)
- Bakery items (+52%)
In H1 2023, research from Standout showed that supermarkets and wholesalers with e-commerce platforms experienced a 43% increase in online traffic. Considering the convenience and practicality of online grocery shopping, this consumer trend is expected to continue. Therefore, businesses looking to maximize sales should view digitalization as a complement to physical store operations.
Challenges for E-Grocery Growth in Brazil
The expansion of e-grocery in Brazil depends on several factors, including:
Business Digitalization
Supermarkets must invest in technology to provide seamless online shopping experience.
A user-friendly platform with a wide product selection is essential. Additionally, offering multiple payment methods—including credit cards, boleto, and Pix—caters to different consumer preferences.
A reliable payment processor should ensure secure and efficient transactions, maximizing approval rates and enabling business scalability.
Delivery Logistics
In physical stores, customers select their products, go to checkout, and transport purchases home. In digital operations, order picking and delivery become the store’s responsibility.
For optimal efficiency, businesses should have a dedicated online sales team to handle customer service, product selection, and delivery preparation.
Fast delivery is crucial—supermarkets should assess whether to implement an in-house logistics system or outsource it based on business size and needs.
Product Quality
One of the biggest challenges in e-grocery is ensuring the quality of perishable products like meat, bread, and cheese. Since these items have a short shelf life, timely delivery with high-quality products is key to maintaining customer trust.
Inventory Management
A robust inventory management system is needed to track stock from supplier receipt to customer delivery. Planning is essential to prevent stock shortages—especially for perishables—as well as excess inventory, which can lead to losses.
The Future of E-Grocery: Recurring Purchases & Personalization
Digitizing operations alone is a strong strategy for supermarkets looking to boost sales. However, businesses can go further by implementing recurring purchases, enhancing customer loyalty and convenience.
Imagine if your customers could receive essential products like bread and cold cuts at a set interval of their choice—without having to reorder manually.
This is the convenience of subscription-based grocery shopping: customers pay a fixed amount at regular intervals (daily, monthly, quarterly, etc.) for continuous product or service access, much like a subscription plan.
Not all products need to be available for recurring purchases—you can offer them based on demand.
To encourage recurring purchases, businesses can offer incentives such as free shipping or discounts on subscription items.
Benefits of Recurring Purchases for Consumers and Retailers
For Consumers:
✔ Convenience & Ease: Receive products at the chosen interval without frequent store visits or online orders.
✔ Time Savings: According to Bain & Company, 60% of online grocery shoppers report high satisfaction.
✔ Reduced Waste: Schedule perishable item deliveries in the right quantities to optimize household budgets.
✔ Simplified Shopping: Ideal for frequently used items like bread, milk, and coffee.
For Supermarkets:
✔ Predictable Revenue: Recurring purchases provide a stable cash flow, aiding financial planning.
✔ Customer Loyalty: Subscribers are more engaged with the brand and less likely to switch to competitors.
✔ Higher Average Spend: Recurring customers tend to spend more than one-time buyers. ✔ Customer Insights: Subscription data helps retailers better understand consumer behavior and offer tailored discounts.
PagStream®: PagBrasil’s Subscription Management Solution
To ensure the success of your recurring sales, optimize operations, and enhance customer satisfaction, you can rely on PagStream®, PagBrasil’s smart subscription management platform.
PagStream® is plug-and-play, requiring no technical development.
With PagStream®, you can create customized subscription plans, and payments are processed automatically using top payment methods, including PagBrasil Pix and Boleto Flash®.
PagStream® Offers to Businesses:
✔ Automatic Retry Mechanism: If a transaction fails, the platform attempts the charge on multiple days.
✔ Acquirer Switching: If a charge fails, PagStream® automatically retries the transaction using a different acquirer.
✔ Card Updater: If a customer’s card is replaced or expires, PagStream® detects the new card details and retries the charge without requiring customer action.
Aldditionaly, PagStream® offers a Subscriber Area, giving customers control over their subscriptions while reducing support requests for retailers.
✔ Modify Subscription Items: Customers can change items within their subscription via a PagBrasil-hosted interface, without canceling their subscription.
✔ Update Payment Methods: Customers can switch their payment method, ensuring uninterrupted subscription payments.
✔ Pause, Skip, or Cancel Subscriptions: Customers can skip a cycle or pause subscriptions temporarily, reducing churn.
Hit the Target
PagStream® provides an “Promotions Engine”, enabling retailers to automate and craft personalized promotions that perfectly align with the target audience’s needs.
With a simple rule-based system, businesses can define triggers that activate promotional actions when certain conditions are met. This allows merchants to optimize sales during key shopping events, such as Black Friday.
Want to Learn More About PagStream®?
Contact our experts to learn how PagStream® can boost your online grocery sales and enhance customer retention.
