In the second Digitally Engaged Food Shopper study, Nielsen and FMI found that pace of adoption of online shopping was faster than it had predicted in the previous report – when it had put the majority shopping online within 10 years.

The research found that in as few as five-seven years, 70% of consumers will be grocery shopping online. The estimated $100bn spend – equivalent to every US household spending $850 online for food and beverage annually – will happen by 2022 or 2024.

The study found that omnichannel shopping has passed the tipping point with online grocery shopping on an accelerated path to industry saturation.

Chris Morley, US president FMCG and retail, Nielsen said: “While analytics will continue to be critical for retailers and manufacturers to understand the digitally engaged food shopper on a deeper level, a collaborative approach to balancing physical and digital sales strategies is the key to unlocking omnichannel success.”

The report identified six organisational requirements to help retailers and manufacturers accelerate omnichannel success: integrate digital with bricks-and-mortar operations; address discrepant datasets; integrate forecasts; optimise shopper insights; improve marketing and promotions; and merge digital and in-store shelf capabilities.