2018’s eCommerce sales increased by a whopping 35.4%, according to IRI’s new research, Consumer Confidence Reflected in eCommerce Growth.

Each day brings more new foods and drinks exclusively developed for online sales—ranging from Amazon’s Wickedly Prime teas, snacks, soups and spreads; to PepsiCo’s “Drinkfinity” flavor pods.

Despite the fact that consumers are spending more time and money online, trust remains a hurdle for online retailers to clear, particularly for younger consumers. Some 14% of all online food and drink consumers cite trust as an issue that has prevented them from adding a product to an online shopping cart, with this number rising to almost one in five (17%) 18-34-year-olds. What’s more, many Americans are deterred by the lack of ability to test the value of the product for themselves as 69% of consumers overall are hesitant to buy something that they can’t see/touch in advance and three quarters (75%) prefer to sample products before purchasing.

Packaged Facts examines and forecasts how current trends across 14 food retail categories will influence growth through 2022.

Mattson identifies lifestyle trends that have the power to influence food and beverage purchases, behavior, beliefs, and innovation. 2018 picks include cannabis consumption, center stores moving online, and flexitarian eating.

The internet is quickly becoming the virtual grocery store for many US consumers with 52 million currently grocery shopping online.

This first perspective offers recommendations on how food marketers and manufacturers should be preparing their strategies and managing the organizational change that will be required to engage those shoppers.