Almost half of U.S. consumers do some or all of their grocery shopping online, according to a new study.

The study, KPMG’s 2018 Grocery Retail Consumer Perception Survey, found that 48 percent of consumers do some or all of their grocery shopping online and 59 percent are planning to do so in the future.

"As the online grocery business is exponentially taking off, grocery retailers and consumer packaged goods companies (CPGs) alike need to adapt to factors that are important to online shoppers such as convenience and choice," says Mark Larson, national leader of KPMG's Consumer & Retail practice. "Already operating in low margin environments, winning retailers and CPGs should consider innovative approaches in strategic revenue management, as well as digital and M&A strategies to remain competitive in the online market shift."

The survey of more than 2,000 grocery shoppers also indicated that product assortment (26 percent) and product quality (25 percent) are of primary importance to heavy online shoppers, outpacing price (18 percent) as a critical factor. However, price still remains relevant to online grocery shoppers as price transparency makes less price-sensitive customers more price savvy.

"There is increasing pressure to better understand the evolving buying habits and expectations of the growing number of online grocery shoppers, but also those customers that remain in store," says Katherine Black, U.S. Consumer and Retail Strategy co-lead for KPMG. "This knowledge will help grocery retailers and CPGs to successfully find new options to meet their customers' needs."