With an already strong e-commerce presence, Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart racked up impressive year-over-year online sales growth in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to 1010data, a provider of data and analytics to asset managers, retailers and CPG companies. It has amassed the following Walmart-specific data points—including online, click and collect and home delivery of Walmart groceries purchased online. The data is projected from 1010data’s panel of 5 million U.S. consumers and is based on tracking credit and debit card sales.
Walmart Grocery’s online sales reached nearly $900 million in March, jumping 21 percent from February 2020 and 99 percent from the previous year, as consumers rushed online to stock up on groceries, find high-demand items and avoid exposure to the coronavirus.
Some of the biggest category movers, over the previous month, were:
- Hand Sanitizer—sales were up 307 percent;
- Alcohol—up 143 percent;
- Cough and Cold medicine—up 116 percent;
- Toilet Paper—up 133 percent. Toilet paper accounted for 3 percent of total sales, the No. 1 purchased item. Toilet paper typically makes up only 1.3 percent of sales and is the ninth most popular item purchased
Walmart Grocery shoppers spent an average of $127 per order (11 percent more than usual) in the days following President Donald Trump’s Oval Office address.
Within two weeks, however, average orders dropped to $98 (14 percent lower than normal) as shoppers encountered stock-outs due to the overwhelming demand for purchasing groceries through the service.
