When it comes to online grocery fulfillment, the industry stands at a crossroads. As online sales declined 7.6% YoY in March to $8bn, we are far a far cry from peak pandemic predictions of 20% penetration by 2025. As of last month, e-grocery pickup and delivery accounted for ~11% of total grocery sales according to Brick Meets Click’s monthly report as well as US Census MARTS data. This growth has coincidentally led to a pullback in automation, with companies like Fabric and Takeoff struggling to find retail partners as larger companies like Walmart and Kroger acquire or partner with Alert Innovation and Ocado, respectively. Meanwhile, recently unveiled stealth startups like Israel-based Super Duper and, more recently, Silicon Valley-based Fulfil have claimed that they have cracked the code to positive contribution margins, in some cases generating as high as 10% operating margins.