50 Statistics on Consumer Shopping Trends

Are you an omnichannel retailer? Consumers shop across channels, price check from their phones, add items to their online carts only to head into a physical store to make a final purchase and shop from tablets, phones, laptops, and social channels.

With the increasing shift to online channels this past year, consumers’ digital preferences have matured and expectations have risen. Personalization, customer journeys, and online experiences are being scrutinized more than ever and those who have traditionally shopped at brick-and-mortar locations are expecting the same experiences online that they have received at physical locations.

Here are 50 statistics on consumer shopping and retail trends, including a look at some of the ways COVID-19 has altered shopping behavior:

The number of orders placed online and picked up at brick-and-mortar stores by customers grew 208% during the pandemic. (Adobe Analytics)
59% of customers say they are more likely to continue curbside pickup after the pandemic. (Retail Dive)
30% of online consumers prefer using BOPIS (Buy online, Pickup In Store) or curbside over delivery. (Adobe Analytics)
Many consumers are now exclusively shopping online, even baby boomers who never did before. Online sales grew nearly 50% at the peak of the pandemic as consumers stayed home but continued to shop. (Adobe Analytics)
87% of U.S. consumers prefer to shop at stores that have touchless or robust self-checkout options. (Shekel)
79% of consumers say they will continue to use self-checkout or increase their usage after COVID-19. (McKinsey)
36% of consumers now shop online weekly, an increase from 28% before the pandemic. (Selligent)
Globally, 49% of consumers shop online more now than they did pre-COVID-19. (Bazaarvoice)
62% of U.S. shoppers say they shop more online now than they did before the pandemic. (Bazaarvoice)
More than half (54%) of retailers said the customer experience is their most important area of focus, way ahead of cross-channel marketing (16%), data-driven marketing (14%), mobile (11%), and programmatic buying/optimization (4%). (Adobe)
When asked about the extent to which digital permeates their marketing activities, 13% of retailers described themselves as “digital-first.” The majority are still primarily led by brick-and-mortar operations and traditional marketing activities. (Adobe)
One-third (33%) of retailers cited “targeting and personalization” among their top three tactical priorities for the year ahead, higher than for any other marketing tactic. (Adobe)
High shipping costs are the #1 reason for cart abandonment. In a study of U.S. shoppers over the age of 18, it was discovered that high shipping costs are the primary reason for cart abandonment for online sales. (Big Commerce)
51% of Americans prefer to shop online and 96% of Americans have made an online purchase in their life. (Big Commerce)
67% of Millennials and 56% of Gen Xers prefer to shop on online rather than in-store and 41% of Baby Boomers and 28% of Seniors will click to purchase. (Big Commerce)
Millennials and Gen Xers spend nearly 50% as much time shopping online each week (six hours) than their older counterparts (four hours). (Big Commerce)
48% of millennials have shopped on marketplaces, 76% at large retailer sites, 46% on webstores or independent boutiques, and 29% at category-specific online stores. (Big Commerce)
56% of Gen Xers have shopped on marketplaces, 76% at large retailer sites, 49% on webstores or independent boutiques, and 37% at category-specific online stores. (Big Commerce)
59% of Baby Boomers have shopped on marketplaces, 74% at large retailer sites, 42% on webstores or independent boutiques, and 39% at category-specific online stores. (Big Commerce)
51% of Seniors have shopped on marketplaces, 66% at large retailer sites, 30% on webstores or independent boutiques, and 44% at category-specific online stores. (Big Commerce)
73% of consumers are more likely to purchase a product or service if they can watch a video explaining it beforehand. (Animoto)
42% of online shoppers want more testimonials from ecommerce sites. (Big Commerce)
75% of consumers are more likely to buy from a retailer that recognizes them by name, recommends options based on past purchases, OR knows their purchase history. (Accenture)
63% of consumers said they’d think more positively of a brand if it gave them content that was more valuable, interesting or relevant. (Rapt Media)
53% of buyers say Facebook informs their purchase decisions. (VWO)
42% of online customers find recommendations from friends and family influential. (Big Commerce)
74% shoppers are unlikely to share a product on social network after purchase. (VWO)
Over 60% of consumers take the time to review a return policy before making a buying decision. (ReadyCloud)
Email marketing accounts for 20 percent of traffic driving ecommerce sales. (Wolfgang Digital)
23% is the online shopping cart abandonment rate on average. (Baymard Institute)
Mobile sessions account for 59 percent of all sessions on ecommerce sites. (Smart Insights)
48% of consumers start mobile research with a search engine –but 33% go directly to the site they want. (Smart Insights)
Google says 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing and 40% visit a competitor’s site instead. (MicKinsey & Company)
Tablets account for the highest add-to-cart rates on eCommerce websites at 8.58%. (Smart Insights)
88% of consumers who search for a type of local business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours. (Nectafy)
Mobile offers are redeemed 10x more frequently than print offers. (eMarketer)
The top three traffic sources driving sales for eCommerce are organic (22%), email (20%) and CPC (19%), with display and social accounting for just 1% and 2% respectively. (SocialMedia Today)
52 percent of consumers cited at least one offline channel as a source of initial awareness before a purchase, and 59 percent cited one or more online channels. (KPMG)
Retail websites or online shops were the most common source of initial product awareness, cited by nearly a third of consumers, and online advertisements were cited by 15 percent. At the same time, physical shops were the second most popular source of awareness, cited by 22 percent of consumers. (KPMG)
After websites, shops or online advertising, the most common sources of product awareness were online reviews (cited by 15 percent), talking with friends (15 percent), social media (13 percent) or seeing a friend with it (12 percent). (KPMG)
Having the most competitive price won’t guarantee a sale. Although price was cited by 57 percent of consumers as a top factor in deciding which website to buy from, the next key attributes were enhanced delivery options and easy return policies. (KPMG)
Millennials have a much higher demand for instant gratification than older generations. Although younger consumers are increasingly comfortable with buying products online without seeing them first, they are almost twice as likely to say they’d rather visit shops to get their product right away, rather than buy online and await delivery. (KPMG)
The top trait that drives customer loyalty for online consumers is an exceptional customer experience. (KPMG)
Parents spend more of their budget online in comparison to non-parents (40% vs. 34%) and spend 75% more time online shopping each week (7 hours vs. 4 hours for non-parents). Parents spend 61% more online than non-parents ($1,071 vs. $664). (Big Commerce)
Men reported spending 28% more online than women. (Big Commerce)
Female respondents cited that they enjoy online shopping (51% vs. 37% of male respondents), invest more time (60% vs. 46% for male counterparts) to find the best deals and often search for coupon codes to get discounts (48% vs. 29% for males). (Big Commerce)
29% of online shoppers would be likely to follow a brand on Facebook; 21% of online shoppers would be likely to follow a brand on Pinterest; 21% of online shoppers would be likely to follow a brand on Instagram; 18% of online shoppers would be likely to follow a brand on Twitter; and 13% of online shoppers would be likely to follow a brand on Snapchat. (Big Commerce)
64% consumers want personalized offers from retail brands. (Salesforce)
56% consumers willing to share data to receive faster and more convenient service. (Salesforce)
95% of Americans shop online at least yearly, 80% of Americans shop online at least monthly, 30% of Americans shop online at least weekly, 5% of Americans shop online daily. (Big Commerce)