56 Online Shopping Statistics to Unveil Latest Buying Trends

Online shopping, once a novelty, has now become a staple in our daily lives.

Statistics indicate that the market is booming and it is not hard to see why. The e-commerce industry is constantly improving its technology. As a result,  many organizations are adopting  e-commerce platforms to manage operations related to online sales.
Purchasing products and services online is now convenient for customers. Their response speaks for the upward trends in the e-commerce market, be it sales, adoption, or overall growth. 

Let’s explore some of the most fascinating online shopping statistics from around the globe. 

Global online shopping statistics

The trend of buying things online is happening more frequently than ever before. The e-commerce market hit $5.7 trillion in 2022 when only one-fifth of the world’s retail sales happened online. 

The growth potential in this section is immense. The statistics below explore the same.

• Over 2 billion people worldwide online shopped in 2020.
• About 75% of consumers use online platforms for shopping at least once every month.
• 63% of shopping activities start online, whether the purchase is made online or in a physical store.
• In 2023, it's estimated that nearly a quarter (22.3%) of all retail sales worldwide will be done online.

• About 49% of consumers shop online every two weeks, and 22% say they do so weekly.
• The most used advertising platforms for online stores are Google Shopping, Facebook Ads, Amazon, and Google Search.
• 35% of millennials say social media strongly influences buying decisions. This marketing channel is most effective for people aged 26 to 42.

How people shop online: a statistical overview

Online shopping patterns differ from person to person. The way people shop, what they shop, and how they do it varies globally based on customers’ demographics. 

The statistics below explore the variety of nuances around how people shop online.

• More than half of all consumers start shopping online using Google, social media, and other online tools.
• Three out of four consumers shop online at least once every month.
• About 31% of consumers shop online once a month, 24% every two weeks, and 20% every week. Only a quarter shop online less than four times every three months.
• About one-third of US consumers, 36%, purchase an item directly through social media.

• Over half of smartphone users, 54%, enjoy window shopping on their phones.
• 81% of shoppers research the product online before making a purchase.
• Almost 80% of smartphone users, 77%, admit to impulse buying for fun.
• Three out of four online shoppers rely mostly on product photos when buying.
• About 38% of shoppers worry about overspending when they use credit cards. That's why younger generations, Gen Z and millennials, prefer debit cards, while older people use credit cards or pay cash on delivery.
• Nearly half of Gen Z shoppers, 45%, compare prices on different online platforms to find the best deal.

Let’s dive into some shopping patterns of men and women.

From the above table, it’s evident that men shop online majorly for technology products. On the other hand, women like to purchase cosmetics, clothes, sports goods, and baby products the most when purchasing digitally.

In-store vs. online shopping statistics

While online shopping looks like what people usually do, in-store buying statistics tell a different story.

• 40% of consumers buy items in a physical store at least once a week. Only 27% do the same online.
• 65% of consumers prefer shopping in physical stores to avoid delivery charges.
• Around 60% of consumers prefer physical stores because they can get their items immediately.

• 81.8% of US consumers prefer to buy groceries in person rather than online.
• Approximately 57% of US consumers prefer online shopping during the holiday season.
• Over 80% of people prefer online shopping because of the physical store’s inconvenient return policies.
• The annual growth rate for physical store sales is around 4%, but it's close to 13% for online sales.

Online shopping sales statistics

Sales, the numbers game, paint an abstract picture of where online shopping is heading as an industry. Here are some of the facts you can’t miss.

• In 2022, US online sales totaled $805 billion. It's predicted to rise to $1.1 trillion in 2023, a 36% increase.
• In 2023, it's expected that over 278.33 million Americans will be shopping online. That's a rise of 8.7% since 2020.
• 23% of total online sales in the US come from fashion products. This percentage has been growing over the past 20 years.
• In the US, 268 million people bought items online in 2022. This means that almost 81% of the US population did online shopping in 2022, a rise since 2016.
• Online sales increased by more than half, 56%, from 2019 to 2022.

• If kept waiting for a customer service agent on the phone, people tend to hang up after 11 minutes.
• Almost half of consumers, 47%, are okay with using chatbots to make purchases. Juniper predicts that by 2023, chatbots will make $112 billion in retail sales.

Online shopping cart abandonment statistics

Cart abandonment is a common practice while shopping online. Shoppers add items to their cart and let them sit. Why do they abandon their cart and how does it impact e-commerce sellers?

• E-commerce businesses face an average cart abandonment rate of about 70%. This could cost them over $3 billion per year.
• Reasons for cart abandonment include slow delivery (22% of cases) and the need to create an account before purchasing the item (24% of cases).
• Follow-up emails about abandoned carts have a 45% average open rate. Out of these, 21% get clicked on.

• Additional or extra charges are the most prominent reason for cart abandonment. Nearly half of the customers abandon their cards due to the same.

Online shopping FAQs: answering questions through statistics

1. Why do customers abandon carts while shopping online? 

Nearly half, or 49%, of customers, abandon their online shopping carts due to high additional charges like shipping, taxes, and fees. (Baymard)

2. What role does a smartphone play in shopping online or in digital stores? 

65% of people use smartphones to compare prices while physically shopping in a brick-and-mortar store. 51% of shoppers get influenced and purchase from another brand or company instead of the one they originally intended to. (KPMG.)

3. What do customers purchase the most online? 

Customers buy entertainment more than anything else while shopping online. (Statista)

4. What technology do customers use to place orders?

Most customers use the Microsoft Windows operating system (OS) to place orders via the company’s website. This must be taken into consideration while designing a store’s user experience (UX). (Statista)

42% of holiday shoppers purchase products online after research, while 23% buy in-store. (Statista)

Observing buying patterns intelligently

In-store or online, consumers buying patterns usually follow a Brownian motion - simply put, random. 

They vary based on what you’re selling and to whom. The statistics above unwrap the peculiarities in how consumers make purchases online. They unveil the purchase motivation and the process guiding it. 

Use these statistics to optimize or revamp your e-commerce selling strategy. Let the facts guide your way.