Key Online Shopping Statistics & Trends for 2024

More than a quarter of the world shops online and the number has been growing year after year. The number of online shoppers grew by a whopping 620 million over the last 5 years and trends show that it’ll continue to grow. PayPal is one of the most common methods for online shopping as 33% of Americans use it to make online payments.

(Statista)

This is one of the online purchase statistics that showcase the online shopping industry growth since the majority of surveyed consumers said they used the World Wide Web to make a purchase at least once a week. Moreover, 24.7% of them said they also use an online price comparison service on a weekly basis.

(DataReportal)

The conversion rates for online shopping worldwide have dropped more in EMEA countries than in the US and GB, but there’s been a consistent drop worldwide. Reasons for this are manifold, but relaxing the Covid-19 restrictions by the majority of countries is definitely one of them.

(Kibo Commerce)

As we can see from the global online shopping statistics, the growth of eCommerce retail sales seems unstoppable. A breathtaking YoY growth quadrupled since 2014 and the trends show that it might grow up to $8.1 trillion in 2026. A predicted 56% growth over the next four years is definitely something to look forward to.

(Statista)

When compared to 2019, we can see this was a 4% increase, while the percentage of US online shoppers grew by 2% from 2021. The popularity of online shopping will only continue to grow, to an estimated 80.4% of online shoppers in 2025.

(Statista)

Ecommerce sales are booming in the post-covid era. The steady growth over the last 20 years has been followed by a significant surge during and after the pandemic. In the first quarter of 2022, US retail eCommerce sales climbed to over $257 billion signifying a 2.7% increase when compared to the previous quarter.

(Statista)

Half of the surveyed people say they’ll continue taking their online shopping habit to the next level over the next 6 months while 39% say they would rather stay at current levels. To confirm this is a general shopping trend, a third of respondents also expect to increase their brick-and-mortar shopping. Good news for retailers worldwide!

(PWC)

Online shopping statistics by year show that the growth trend didn’t stop in 2022. The astonishing 50% increase is a clear sign for retailers worldwide to adapt to the recent game-changing market movements and find new ways to attract online customers.

(Adobe)

As per online shopper statistics, 18% said the same about the physical store experience. It’s important to note that in Europe and South Africa, the main factor that blocks the growth of online shopping is the fact people enjoy visiting physical stores. Still, easier navigation, social proof, and a larger variety of products are all factors that can influence people to move from in-store to online shopping.

(NielsenIQ)

We doubt many will be surprised by this since it’s one of the most obvious online shopping facts. On the other hand what might surprise you is that the biggest drivers for online shopping in Italy and Belgium are “first to have new products” and “the ability to make special requests”, respectively. Lower prices are the main motivation for people in Taiwan, Austria, and Poland while Canadians love the convenience that online shopping brings to the table.

(NielsenIQ)

In a recent survey done by GWI, 58% of consumers said they preferred to shop online and 31% of them claimed they use their phone to make online purchases at least once per week. Since 25% of millennials do most or all of their grocery shopping online, this number will be higher in the future.

(GWI)

Although the majority of people prefer online shopping, there are still a lot of people who like going to physical stores. It’s interesting to note that 48% of customers have replaced physical store products with online items so the consumer trends seem to be going in favor of online shopping.

(Raydiant)

For 17.2% leaving the house to purchase something you could easily get online is too much of a hassle, while 14.9% of surveyors like the availability of tools and coupon codes when buying stuff online. Furthermore, stats on online shopping show that 12% of people see it convenient that health and safety concerns aren’t a thing when shopping online while 10.5% of people just prefer the fast-paced transactions they get when buying on the World Wide Web.

(Raydiant)

At 24.7%, being able to physically touch the products before purchasing comes in second while the third place is held by people who aren’t patient enough to wait for delivery (11.9%). Finally, not wanting to pay shipping costs and the inability to find a product online round up the top 5 list with 10.8% and 5.3%, respectively.

(Raydiant)

Statistics on online shopping vs in-store shopping show the disparity between online and offline shopping is even higher in Asia. Namely, in India, omnishoppers spent 1.5x more in 2021 than they did in 2020. On the other hand, the purchases of those who shop only in brick-and-mortar stores stagnated. Thailand, the uncrowned champion of online shopping, saw a similar trend since online shopping was twice as popular as physical store shopping.

(NielsenIQ)

As for the United States, groceries became an important aspect of the entire online shopping market since this industry was expected to top $85 billion in online sales in 2022. Once again, Thailand tops the worldwide charts with 43.3% of surveyed people purchasing groceries online. Right behind the Kingdom of Thailand are South Korea and Turkey with 41.5% and 40.3% of people shopping for groceries online, respectively. Finally, only 23.8% of people in the United States order groceries online weekly.

(Adobe, Hootsuite)

Although internet shopping statistics show that the industry is developing, only 38% of monthly grocery shoppers make their purchases online which means there’s still plenty of room to grow. And since 73% of people are more dedicated to protecting their physical and mental health, 40% of online shoppers buy more supplements than they did before.

(GWI)

To be fair, pharmaceuticals also take 6.8% of the proverbial cake while health & beauty, as well as travel & hospitality industries, are right behind, at 3.9% each. Marketers should know that the margins between industries are narrow in this aspect and that almost all industry giants can hope to see online spending numbers skyrocket in the following years.

(DataReportal)

As per data from a survey carried out in September 2021 in the United States, one-third of Americans were reluctant to leave their house to go grocery shopping, while 25% of consumers made the whole weekly grocery shopping online. It’s also important to note that 36% of US consumers reported spending between $50 and $100 dollars on groceries weekly.

(Statista)

The American Northeast crowded the top 10 with five states: Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. To conclude the top five, we have two Western states (California and Washington) as well as two Southern states (Virginia and Delaware). The last one on the top 10 list is the District of Columbia.

(LendingTree)

Contrary to the previous stat, the American South dominates the list of top 10 states with fewer online purchases. According to online shopping data, Wyoming leads the list where you’ll also find Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama, New Mexico, Montana, and finally South Dakota. Interestingly enough, South Dakota’s governor didn’t close shops during Covid-19 which apparently influenced people’s shopping behavior.

(LendingTree)

As a result, the Australian YoY (2020-2021) growth rate was 12.3% and Aussies spent like never before in 2021. The total online shopping spending for 2021 was at an all-time high of $62.3 billion which accounted for 19.3% of the total retail spend. However, when it comes to weekly online purchases, Australia has only 25% of people with the habit of making weekly purchases online meaning the industry still has room to grow.

(Auspost)

The percentage of online shopping users in Malaysia is 66.1, while Mexico comes in third with 65.1%. China and the UK are also worth mentioning with 62.3% each, while the United States is at 60%. For perspective, the worldwide average is 58.8%.

(DataReportal)

Although it seems like stating the obvious, free shipping and additional services such as click and collect are game-changers. Incentives such as free shipping and simple returns are important, but not always enough. At times, businesses will even need loyalty programs to keep their online shopping customers satisfied. One of the most important facts about online shopping to remember is that customers should always come first.

(Worldline)

Keeping your promises is crucial in both life and business. The gap that is created by not respecting promised deadlines can destroy C2B brand loyalty. Delivery time is by far the most important factor here since 85% of consumers say they always look for delivery info. The champions in this regard are the Spaniards, 94% of which are always familiar with delivery times for the products they order online.

(Ipsos)

Depending on the age and other demographic parameters, the gap is different but across all age categories, online sellers would rather see female than male visitors. 63.9% of female customers between the ages of 25 and 34 purchase goods and services online weekly, while only 58.9% of the same age group do the same.

(DataReportal)

Online shopper demographics show that the lowest gap is for males and females who are between 45 and 54 years old, while the biggest difference when it comes to online grocery shopping is between males and females between the ages of 25 and 34. 34.4% of females aged between 25 and 34 shops for groceries weekly, while only 29.8% of men of that age do the same.

(DataReportal)

The same is true for only 38% of men while 34% of them said unclear delivery time can deter them from shopping online. Hazy delivery times can stop 43% of UK females from ordering an item online meaning retailers should try harder and provide a better service in order to keep both genders satisfied.

(Worldline)