Online Grocers Hurt by Delivery Costs, Apathy

Online grocers such as Webvan Group Inc. and Peapod Inc. are being hurt by high delivery costs and consumer apathy, according to a report by research firm Jupiter Media Metrix Inc.

Each order costs Webvan and Peapod about $27, with two-thirds of that going to delivery. The companies’ average orders are slightly more than $100, the report said.

Jupiter cut its 2001 online grocery sales forecast to $1 billion from $2 billion in a second report dated April 27.