Sociodemographic Factors Associated With Online Grocery Shopping Among Low-Income Households During the COVID-19 Pandemic

OBJECTIVES: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online Purchasing Pilot (OPP) authorized the use of SNAP benefits online in Maryland in May 2020 and expanded rapidly across the US due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We assessed sociodemographic factors associated with online grocery service uptake and current and intended future use during and after COVID-19 among SNAP-eligible households in Maryland. METHODS: Primary shoppers of SNAP-eligible households with children (n = 310) were recruited online to complete a survey on online grocery shopping (Nov. 2020–Jan. 2021), as part of a mixed-methods study. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression (adjusted for sociodemographics and SNAP use) were performed in Stata. A purposefully sampled subset of respondents (n = 42) participated in focus groups or in-depth interviews, which were transcribed and analyzed in MAXQDA. RESULTS: Most participants (82%) reported receiving SNAP in the past year. Among those who had ever bought groceries online (57%), the majority first ordered groceries online after the OPP. Older age (30–39 or ≥40 v. 18–29) was associated with ever ordering groceries online [aOR: 2.69 (95% CI: 1.40, 5.16); aOR: 2.95 (1.45, 6.00)], as was grocery shopping weekly (v. less often) [aOR: 2.16 (1.26, 3.70)]. Older age groups [aOR: 4.37 (1.26, 15.19); aOR: 3.77 (1.05, 13.56)] and larger households [aOR: 1.28 (1.02, 1.62)] were more likely to have ordered groceries online before the OPP. Participants often cited COVID-19 as a motivator for ordering groceries online in focus groups, and some reported that the OPP influenced both their decision to buy groceries online and where they shopped online. Most participants who had shopped online planned to continue after the pandemic (79%), while 60% of the full sample expected to shop online more often in the next 6 months than at the time of the survey. CONCLUSIONS: Although most participants who shopped online started after the COVID-19 pandemic began, a high proportion intended to continue shopping online after the pandemic. Our findings suggest that online grocery services will remain an important source of food for SNAP-eligible households, affirming the need for policies that promote equitable access to healthy food online. FUNDING SOURCES: Healthy Eating Research, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.