26. 85% of consumers research products online before making a purchase.
(Salesforce)
Most – 74% – of consumers’ research efforts take place at company websites. Other popular options are email (43%) and social media (38%). Younger generations are increasingly turning to voice search: 40% of consumers aged 18 to 36 use digital assistants like Amazon Echo and Google Home to conduct eBusiness research.
27. About 2.63% of visits to U.S. eCommerce websites turn into a purchase.
(Invesp)
Conversion rates for online stores in the United States have dropped by 1% since 2014, reflecting both a rise in competition and an increased level of consumer product-comparison research. Global sales statistics generally follow this same trend. The U.K. eCommerce market is experiencing a reverse effect, climbing from 3.65% in 2014 to 4.31% in 2018.
28. If page-load times on mobile are three seconds, 53% of users are likely to bounce from the website.
(Think with Google)
Loading speeds are incredibly important for eCommerce websites, and every second greatly affects user bounce rates. In fact, mobile shopping statistics from Google show that if your load times go from 1s to 5s, the bounce rates increase by 90%, and if they reach 10s, the rate will jump by 123%.
29. About 59% of millennial consumers check Amazon before other eCommerce services.
(KPMG)
As millennials and members of Gen Z become the main consumers in the U.S., shopping habits and venues will evolve. This is evident in the case of Amazon, where 9% of millennials have already made a purchase. Online shopping statistics show that Gen Z consumers are right behind them at 62%.
30. Amazon Prime has attracted more than 100 million users globally.
(Reuters)
Amazon’s subscription-based service has been a huge success. It has garnered the attention of shoppers and gamers, and in the process massively increased Amazon’s annual sales. The eCommerce giant’s offer of faster shipping and interesting promotions has seen an increase from 20 million to 100 million users in just a few years.
31. Mobile retail eCommerce sales amounted to $2.3 billion in 2019, and are expected to reach $2.9 billion in 2020.
(Statista)
eCommerce growth statistics show that mobile retail sales are becoming a huge part of the market. These sales amounted to $967 million in 2016, but are projected to reach $3.55 billion by 2021. That is a jump of more than 300% in just five years.
32. 86% of American citizens would like to receive promotional emails at least once per month.
(Marketing Sherpa)
Email is an incredibly useful eCommerce tool for keeping customers aware of new products and promotional deals that are available with your business. In fact, 15% of the U.S. residents surveyed in this study said they would like to receive promotional emails on a daily basis, while 60% of them say once a week is better.
33. 80% of consumers would stop doing business with a company because of a poor customer support experience.
(HubSpot Research)
Statistics on digital buyers from 2018 are a clear indicator of how important customer support is to any online business. Consumers want to get help as fast as possible, to be contacted by friendly and helpful staff, and to have their issues resolved with a sense of urgency. If online sales sites don’t provide sufficiently good support services, it is likely that they will lose potentially faithful customers to the competition.
34. In 2018, holiday retail sales passed $1 trillion for the first time in history.
(eMarketer)
Consumer confidence in the economy has been on a record high during the past year, leading to a 5.8% increase in holiday sales over 2017. Strong eCommerce sales helped contribute to record-breaking sales, especially on Amazon, which accounted for more than 40% of all online sales.
35. 68% of consumers would prefer to learn about new products via video content.
(HubSpot Research)
Video marketing has quickly become key to successful eCommerce sales. Perhaps that’s why 87% of businesses now use video to market their products. Research on global eCommerce trends reveals that only 15% of consumers prefer text-based articles and 4% choose infographics as their favorite marketing medium.
36. On average, men spend 68% more on eCommerce purchases than women.
(KPMG)
Data on the demographics of online shoppers indicates that both sexes make purchases at about the same rate. However, male shoppers spend substantially more money. This can be attributed to the fact that male shoppers dominate the markets for expensive products like luxury goods and electronics. In fact, 72% of all electronics purchases are made by men.
37. Baby Boomers spend an average of $203 per online transaction, more than any other generation.
(KPMG)
Older generations make up a big percentage of retail sales online, in some regards even outpacing younger shoppers. Baby Boomers are the most likely to spend money on healthcare products, household appliances, and wine – products that have higher prices.
38. 55% of consumers abandon their shopping carts due to high “extra” costs like shipping and other fees.
(Baymard Institute)
eCommerce return rate statistics suggest that about 34% of digital shoppers immediately abandon their shopping carts if the website demands that they create an account before shopping. Another 26% say they abandon the page if they face an overly complicated and long checkout process.
39. 75% of consumers expect shipping to be free even on orders under $50.
(National Retail Federation)
This figure represents a 7% increase compared to the previous survey, and shows that international markets are increasingly demanding. More consumers than ever expect free shipment of their orders – including 88% of Baby Boomers. Overall, 65% of U.S. consumers will first check free-shipping requirements before even beginning to add items to their shopping carts.
40. 75% of online grocery shoppers keep purchasing products from the first store they try.
(Think with Google)
U.S. online grocery shopping is strangely lagging behind other economies and eCommerce markets like the U.K. and South Korea, where customers already buy over 10% of their groceries online. Only 2% of groceries in the United States are purchased online, but the market is set for a huge expansion, especially now that Amazon has bought Whole Foods.
41. Internet user penetration level in the US is projected to be 88.7% in 2020.
(Statista)
As consumers get more connected, penetration levels for eCommerce marketing continue to rise. In fact, projections indicate that the internet penetration rate might rise by 5% in the next three years, reaching 93.7% by 2023. This will bode well for online shopping retailers big and small alike.
Final Words
Online shopping is more than an emerging industry. It is already one of the most important ways for large and small business to reach customers. If eCommerce market-size projections are to be believed, digital shopping will only continue to grow more important. Technical innovations like drone-based delivery systems and autonomous vehicles will accelerate the trend.
Consumers are pushing both the smallest and the biggest online retailers to offer better service and more generous offers. Today’s customer has more power than any in history, and the power is growing as the number of online shoppers increases.
If the eCommerce statistics we compiled here indicate one thing, it’s that consumer satisfaction is what makes or breaks any online business, no matter how big or small.
