Source: The Nielsen Company

Despite the explosion in online shopping in the U.S., physical stores haven’t gone by the wayside. Why? In a word: fresh.

Although e-commerce represents just 4% of grocery sales today, it accounts for nearly one-third of total growth. And Americans are increasingly heading online to shop for non perishables, household items and pet products, making the concept of stock up grocery trips a thing of the past for many shoppers.

Yet the fresh departments (bakery, deli, meat, produce and seafood) still lure people into physical stores; in fact, online grocery shoppers spend 1.5% more in-store on fresh food than the average consumer does. As more category sales continue to shift online, retailers need a way to differentiate themselves in stores, and fresh is the perfect place to do it. Fresh is the growth engine of the store, as gains in these perimeter departments translate to total store success.