Self-isolation imposed by the coronavirus outbreak pushed the vast majority of the global population into the role of internet shoppers. Consequently, online shopping statistics are showing a rapid rise in figures with no end in sight.
Let’s face it, as buyers, we are all curious to find out exactly how this turn of events will affect our wallets — hence why we use customer habits and behavior to find out the most popular methods of purchase and the way people go about their online shopping.
So, if you’re looking to find out more about online shopping, read on.
Top 10 Takeaway Online Shopping Facts and Stats
- 8 in 10 Americans shop online at some point during the year.
- 16% of the total retail sales in the US are made by online shopping.
- Online retailers observed a staggering 699% increase in internet sales of pasta due to social isolation.
- In March 2020, 9% of US consumers conducted their very first online shopping.
- Only 2% of online shopping is done by using Alexa’s voice-assistance.
- Amazon holds a staggering 52.4% US e-commerce market share.
- Only 10% of online shoppers buy a product they see in a social media post.
- Internet reviews influence over two-thirds of purchasing decisions.
- In 2018, half of the largest online retailers in the world were US-based.
- Gen Xers spend more than any other US generation on online shopping.
Online Shopping Statistics by Year
1. 8 of 10 Americans shop online at some point during the year.
(Pew Research) (Statista) (EC Europa)
Data on online shopping worldwide reveals that there were 1.66 billion global digital shoppers in 2016. What’s more, stats on worldwide trends concerning online purchase estimate that this practice will be adopted by 2.14 billion individuals come 2021.
In Europe, 71% of those using the internet went internet shopping in 2019.
A recent Pew research shows 79% of US citizens are digital shoppers — 15% and 28% of them buy on a weekly and monthly basis, respectively, whereas 37% do so even less than that.
2. 16% of the total retail sales in the US were made by online shopping, statistics for 2019 reveal.
(Digital Commerce 360)
The US Department of Commerce reported that Americans spent $601.75 billion on online purchases in 2019, which is a 15% increase from 2018.
In 2019, the ecommerce market had a 16% total retail market share, a 1.6% increase since 2018, when it had an overall retail market share of just 14.4%.
Ecommerce gains represented a staggering 56.9% of all gains in the retail market in 2019, which is also a big jump compared to 44% in 2018.
3. In March 2020, 9% of US consumers conducted their very first online shopping, statistics for 2020 disclose.
(Statista) (Statista)
The coronavirus outbreak had a huge impact on online shopping figures in the US. Statista reveals that 9% of both male and female US consumers marked their first online purchase in less than a month (from March 1 to March 26, 2020).
This was especially true for Americans in the 30–44 age group, as 12% of them made their internet shopping debut during this period. Other age groups also followed suit; 5% of those aged 65 and over, and another 11% of people from other age groups started buying online for the first time ever.
4. Online retailers observed a staggering 699% increase in internet sales of pasta due to social isolation, online shopping statistics for 2020 reveal.
(Statista) (Statista)
The coronavirus outbreak resulted in US consumers older than 18 to double or even triple their purchasing volumes. Namely, 36.2% of US consumers of all ages were planning on spending more on internet shopping due to social isolation in March 2020.
What’s more, an online survey conducted in March 2020 revealed that up to 44% of online shoppers of the 30–44 age group were planning to spend more online than usual.
Likewise, the same was true for 38% of the people from the 45–54 age group, and 31% of Americans older than 55.
Online Shopping Statistics — The How and Where
5. In 2018, half of the largest online retailers in the world were US-based.
(Forbes)
Amazon sits at the very top, followed by JD, Suning Commerce Group, Apple, Walmart, Dell Technologies, and others.
Interestingly, when we look at their place of origin, some of the largest online retailers of 2018 were almost exclusively divided by the US and China. Specifically, of the top 10, five originated in the US, four from China, and merely one originated from Germany.
Online retail statistics for 2018 also show that Amazon made a net sale of around $77 billion, or $16 billion more than the second-placed JD ($61 billion).
6. Online shopping statistics from 2018 in the USA show that Amazon held a staggering 52.4% US e-commerce market share.
(Forbes) (Statista)
Furthermore, online retail platforms are expected to reach 13.7% of global retail e-commerce sales in 2020, as per stock market statistics.
Forbes also reveals that Amazon’s share of the online retail market was “merely” 43.5% back in 2017.
Other big online retail players didn’t even come close to this percentage in 2017. Namely, Apple had 3.9%, whereas Walmart and Home Depot had 3.7% and 1.5%, respectively.
7. Desktop computers are the most preferred device for internet shopping, online shopping statistics for 2019 (USA) reveal.
(Statista)
According to the latest online purchase statistics in the US, desktop computers ranked above all other devices when it comes to internet shopping, making an average order value of $135.
Tablets were next in line, accounting for an average of $102 spent, followed by mobile phones ($95).
Lastly, merely $83 were spent via other devices during the same 4-month period.
8. Only 2% of online shopping is done via Alexa’s voice-assistance. online shopping statistics from 2018 indicate.
(Retail Dive)
In 2018, Americans owned over 50 million Alexa-enabled devices. Yet, merely 2% of them used the voice-command to conduct their internet shopping.
What’s more, around 90% of those who used Alexa for shopping didn’t repeat the experience. Instead, they used the voice-research option to find deals and offers, only to purchase the goods through another device.
9. Merely 40% of those with a suitable device for voice-assistance use it for browsing the internet.
(Retail Dive)
How many people shop online with the help of voice-assisted services? Not a whole lot!
Among those who have a suitable device for voice-assistance, 60% never attempted to use it for browsing, let alone make an online purchase.
In fact, numerous studies have shown that voice-assisted internet shopping, browsing, and similar services were not overly popular.
10. 68% of online shoppers are picking up products in-store, online shopping trends reveal.
(Forbes)
As much as 68% of online shoppers do “click and collect,” or BOPIS shopping. These figures go up for discounts and special sales like Black Friday, when 73% of online shoppers practiced BOPIS back in 2019.
The so-called BOPIS orders were judged more convenient by 28% of shoppers, and for many of them, the speed of purchase played a big role in using this method.
According to the same study, out of the 2,000 customers surveyed, 85% were doing additional shopping once they were in the store to pick up their purchases.
11. Online shopping statistics show that more than half of online purchases get canceled due to high shipping costs.
(Statista) (Statista)
Consumer spending statistics reveal that 57% of online shoppers abandon their purchase because they consider the shipping costs too high.
Another 63% of online consumers stated that they mostly shop from online retailers that offer free shipping.
12. 44% of online shoppers use their credit cards.
(Statista)
Credit cards are by far the most popular payment method for online shoppers, as revealed by credit card statistics.
In 2018, 32% of digital shoppers used their debit cards, and 25% used their PayPal accounts to finish a purchase, making it the second-most popular online payment method.
Online Shopping Stats — The Who, the Why, and the What
13. Gen Xers spend more than any other US generation on online shopping.
(KPMG)
Personal finance statistics about Gen Xers reveal that they conduct nearly 19 online purchases per annum.
Even though the general opinion is that the younger generations practice internet shopping a lot more, Gen Xers made 20% more purchases than millennials, as per the latest millennial spending statistics.
14. Online shopping statistics from 2016 show that men were spending more on online purchases than women.
(KPMG) (Reprice Express)
Despite the fact that the frequency of online purchases is the same for both men and women, the data on online shopping in the USA by volume shows that men spent around $220 per online purchase, as opposed to women who spent just $151 on average.
Other significant gender differences are observed in the usage of specific online shops. For example, the male to female ratio for eBay is 53:47, whereas for Etsy the ratio is reversed (20:80).
15. Only 10% of consumers buy a product they see in a social media post, global online shopping statistics from 2017 indicate.
(KPMG)
59% of customers scour the web for more info on a product they’ll purchase online. In contrast, merely 51% of consumers use an offline product purchase channel.
Out of those shopping online, 30% reported seeing the product they want to buy on the online retailers’ website, whereas 15% of them said they responded to an online advertisement.
On the other hand, 7% of online shoppers were spurred to buy a product via an online article or a magazine.
16. Recent online shopping trends and statistics indicate that internet reviews influence over two-thirds of purchasing decisions.
(Forbes)
The online reputation of businesses and products plays a crucial role in the customer journey.
An article in Forbes reveals that in 2015, 67.7% of purchasing decisions were impacted by online reviews.
84% of online shoppers in 2016 believed that online reviews can be trusted the same way you trust a personal recommendation for a product.
Consequently, better reviews equal better sales for online shops. For example, good Yelp reviews were shown to bring a 5–9% increase in shop revenue back in 2016.
17. Online sales statistics show that 49% of online shoppers consult with online reviews prior to buying a product.
(KPMG)
More often than not, consumers look for online information about a product before actually purchasing it, though word-of-mouth is irreplaceable.
The biggest share (65%) went to comparing prices with other online shops, whereas another 61% looked for online specifications and information about the products themselves, and almost half of them (49%) searched for online product reviews.
18. Americans prefer buying TV and video devices online, and grocery or packaged beverages in-store.
(Statista)
Statistics on online shopping vs in-store shopping show that, before the “Great Lockdown” of 2020, Americans went online shopping primarily for certain categories of products such as TVs and video products.
In a 2019 survey posing the question “what are people buying online,” 46% of the surveyees stated that the most popular products were financial services — bought by 47% of the interviewed online shoppers.
On the other hand, materials and products that require more frequent re-supplying, such as groceries, beverages or hygiene products, were preferably bought in-store.
19. 40% of bridesmaids dresses are bought online.
(Retail Dive)
When it comes to the big day, online shopping vs in store shopping statistics show that Brides, however, still prefer in-store shopping for the perfect wedding dress.
20. Online sales of toilet paper spiked by 231% during Covid19 pandemic.
(The Mercury News)
That’s more than the increase in over-the-counter flu and pain drugs, with 217%. The sales of hand sanitizers, masks, and other protective products soared by 807%.
21. Online sales of disposable gloves rose by 670%.
(Visual Capitalist)
Online shopping growth statistics in the times of Covid19 are very interesting. The second product whose sales experienced an enormous rise of 652% has nothing to do with protection or hygiene. It’s the bread machines! These are the statistics for March 2020, compared to March 2019.
Conversely, the goods that experienced the biggest drop in sales were luggage items such as bags and suitcases.
FAQs
Who online shops the most?
(World Atlas) (Digital Commerce 360)
The US population spends the biggest amount on online shopping in the world, with the total sum being $601.75 billion in 2019.
The average American spends $1,804 on online shopping per year, followed by the UK with $1,629 spent per annum, and Sweden with $1,446.
How much does the average person spend on online shopping?
(KPMG) (World Atlas)
An average man spends $220 per online transaction, whereas the average woman spends around $151. Hence, the combined average would be — $185.5.
Having in mind that the average transaction number per person for North America is 19, we can calculate that the average American spends about $3,524.5 annually on internet shopping.
Additionally, in 2015, the average amount spent per online shopper was $1,804.
Why do people shop online?
(Smart Insights)
If we put the global COVID-19 pandemic aside, people become digital shoppers mostly because online shops are always available. A small percentage of online shoppers look for products that are otherwise unavailable in their countries.
Others shop online to save on money by comparing prices, taking advantage of sales offers, and avoiding negative experiences like waiting in line, or crowds.
Honorary mentions include finding items in one place and saving on time.
How many products are bought online?
(KPMG)
When it comes to shopping worldwide, statistical analysis in 2017 reveals that (on average) 15.4 online shopping transactions were made per person for that year.
Cross-continents, Asia had the most per person online transactions in 2017 (22.1), and Latin America had the lowest transaction counts of just 9.2. North America was second with 19 transactions per person per year.
Conclusion
While both convenience and fear are propelling online retailers into bigger profits, those that aspire to take a part in this success need to keep in mind that quality, speed, affordability, and reputation are the key ingredients for topping online shopping statistics and making online shopping attractive for everyone.
