Report shows significant shifts in online shopping behaviour this holiday season
E-commerce logistics will need to be especially robust this season, as survey finds double-digit growth in online shopping rates
Responses from over 1,000 shoppers in the US show that consumers are looking to shop more online than they were at the beginning of the pandemic. The percentage reporting that they shop online increased from 38% in April to 52% in August across all categories and from 26% to 52% for online grocery shopping.
ChannelAdvisor Corporation, a leading provider of cloud-based e-commerce solutions, released results from a new consumer survey of more than one thousand active shoppers in the US. This indicates significant shifts in online shopping behaviour among purchase-ready consumers across all age groups and genders during the pandemic.
Some of the study’s key findings include that 59% intend to start their holiday shopping online prior to November 1. This could be due to the fact that 47% are concerned brands and retailers won’t be able to deliver packages to them on time this holiday season. However, 78% said they are willing to wait longer for the delivery of packages due to logistical shipping delays.
The survey was first conducted in April 2020, and then replicated in August, showing more consumers are shopping online than before. Since early March, at the onset of the pandemic, surveyed US consumers said they describe themselves as shopping online more frequently than before the pandemic. This was the case for 46% of the respondents in April, also, rising to 60% in August.
Consumers also reported that they purchased items they had not bought online before, 31% of respondents in April, rising to 36% for August. More surveyed respondents also indicated that they purchased from retailers they hadn’t shopped with before – rising from 20% to 24%.
Consumers are opting to go to physical stores again, but many opting to buy online and pick up in-store. 79% have shopped at a physical store since reopening (excluding grocery and supermarkets), with 59% having used the ‘buy online, pick up in store’ option since the COVID-19 outbreak. Fourty-one percent of consumer also reported that they plan to use this option when shopping for non-grocery items this holiday season.