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We all know that online shopping is popular, but have you ever wondered why that is? In this consumer behavior report, we explore how and why people buy online. The data below reflects answers from a survey we conducted of 1,280 shoppers from the United States via MakeOpinion.com. This is the first article in the series, focusing on online shopping statistics.
Attention: This is part 1 of 3 of our series covering digital spending and couponing habits in 2024. The insights were gathered via a survey of 1,280 consumers from the United States. Check out all parts of our research, or continue reading the full details below.
For this question, respondents selected all applicable answers, as there can be multiple reasons why a consumer chooses to buy digitally. The most popular reasons were:
Note: There’s a clear pattern between the top 3 reasons, as they all correlate with shoppers having limited time and energy to spend on purchasing items.
For example, in 2019, the average person spent around 4.5 hours per week commuting to and from work (U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey). That’s over half the time that the average employed person in the U.S. spent at work daily in 2022 (8 hours, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics).
Note: This logic can be reinforced by looking at the fourth and fifth reasons too, which are free shipping options and a wide array of products.
Essentially, customers love finding pretty much whatever they need online easily and getting it shipped to their door free of charge.
Last, but not least, the bottom-tier answers are all tied to price in some way and have roughly the same fairly high percentage (in the 40s). This proves that convenience is the driving factor for customers deciding to buy online, but the ability to spend less than in-store is also highly important.
The full breakdown of reasons consumers shop online:
On average, most respondents make 3 to 5 online purchases per month (37%), while 31% of respondents purchase online once or twice every month. 12% make between 11 – 15+ online purchases every month.
As for how much they spend, most people buy products online worth an average of $50 – $100 every month (25%). The full breakdown is as follows:
For this question, respondents were asked to check all applicable answers, since it is likely that people buy multiple product types every month. The most popular items bought online, as per our survey results, are:
The full breakdown is:
Note: Most respondents are in the lower spending categories – under $50 a month and up to $150. Still, the top 3 product categories can seem expensive at first look: clothes, electronics, health. However, these categories include both products that can cost $10, such as a basic T-shirt, as well as high-end designer dresses worth $1,000+.
Let’s consider two things:
Given the data so far about online shopping statistics, it is within reason to infer that our respondents might buy a combination of food and clothes, electronics, or health products online monthly, with a lower cost per transaction. Alternatively, they could be purchasing higher-value products from the clothes, electronics, or health categories less often during a month.
Want to look at the data yourself? Just click the button below and tell us your email address and what you need the data for. We’ll then give you the questions and answers in CSV format.
If you’ve found the insights interesting, we’re happy to tell you that there’s more where they came from! Continue exploring online shopping and couponing habits by reading all parts of our study:
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