Few Americans Currently Doing Their Grocery Shopping Online

(RTTNews) - Hinting at the theoretically enormous potential for growth, the results of a Gallup poll show the trend of increasing online shopping has not yet hit the retail grocery industry.

The poll found that 9 percent of Americans say someone in their family orders groceries online for pickup or delivery at least once a month, including 4 percent who do it at least weekly.

In comparison, nearly all Americans say someone in their family shops for groceries in person at least once a month, with 83 percent going at least once a week.

The relatively low percentage of Americans that shop for groceries online comes despite the increase in online shopping for other goods.

Gallup noted Amazon's (AMZN) agreement to acquire Whole Foods (WFM) has given rise to speculation the online retail giant will use the grocery chain as a launching pad to expand its operations into the food sector.

"Shopping for groceries online has a long way to go before it catches on with the vast majority of consumers, who mostly do their grocery shopping in person," said Gallup's Frank Newport and Megan Brenan.

They added, "However, this may change, with experts asserting the traditional grocery business may be in a situation similar to that of department stores in recent years, with more retail space than the market can sustain."

The poll found that Americans who reside in cities and adults under 65 are most likely to do their grocery shopping online.

The Gallup survey of 1,021 adults was conducted July 5th through 9th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.