New players in the market
Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, this growth served as an impetus for new players in the market, none of which proved more promising than homegrown delivery-only grocery store Jüsto. Founded in 2019, Jüsto was the first store of its kind in Mexico, and it quickly became the most funded online grocery delivery store in Latin America. In less than four years, and through five funding rounds, the company raised a total of 244 million U.S. dollars. While ambitious, startups like Jüsto have a steep hill to climb to remain relevant amid increasing competition from conventional supermarket chains moving into the digital sphere.A convenient alternative
Rather than replacing in-store shopping, e-commerce has become an additional channel for food and beverage purchases in Mexico. According to a 2022 survey, more than one-third of e-commerce users in this sector bought groceries online at least once a week. Consumers in Mexico frequently use this mode of purchase for a myriad of reasons, some of which carry more weight than others. Home delivery, for example, is the main reason Mexican online shoppers purchase food and beverages through this medium. Saving on a trip to the store is also highly valued.The impact of inflation
Online grocery shopping provides a different experience than the physical journey in many ways, yet some things remain fairly constant across both methods of purchase. For instance, online and in-person shoppers are similarly affected by price increases. Food, beverages, and tobacco experienced an inflation rate of nearly 13 percent from 2021 to 2022, the highest of any expenditure category in Mexico. From September 2021 to July 2022, between 70 and 80 percent of consumers in the country noticed higher grocery prices than the previous month. This makes it the category with the highest perceived monthly inflation in the Mexican market.
