The latest bump in online spending came after the government sent out stimulus payments to tens of millions of American households beginning on April 11. The popularity of online grocery shopping has meant that some services have strained to meet the demand — and this could diminish the long-term appeal of the services. The central battle now is most likely between Instacart and the biggest forces in online retailing, Amazon, Walmart and Target, all of which have been investing more heavily in grocery sales. Walmart had the biggest established presence, but it has grown more slowly than Amazon and Target. Both companies have recently expanded their online sales much faster than Amazon.

Source: New York Times May 13, 2020 09:01 UTC