16 eCommerce Statistics You Should Know

More customers are shopping online than ever, and they are also relying on other sources like social media and product reviews to influence their buying decisions. The road to selling a product online is full of obstacles. However, with these 16 ecommerce statistics, you can develop a suitable strategy to help your online business succeed.

1. U.S. retail ecommerce sales are expected to surpass 735 billion by 2023

This is up from $504.6 billion in 2018. Apparel and retail sales alone in the United States are projected to be more than $138.7 billion by 2022.

2. 42% of U.S. consumers have searched and purchased products or services online

U.S. shoppers say they purchase items online at least several times per month. Still, many of them are doing their research online before making a purchase. Around 14% of U.S. shoppers actually prefer researching products online them buying them in physical stores.

3. Most online shoppers are Gen Xers

According to Vetro Analytics, 34% of online shoppers are Gen Xers and are between 35 and 54 years old. Millennials, currently aged 18 to 34 years old trail closely behind making up 30% as well as baby boomers who make up 31%.

4. Some online shoppers make purchases from social media

According to a Big Commerce 2018 buying report, huge online retailers like Amazon and eBay are not the only places that online shoppers make purchases. Around 11% of shoppers make a purchase with Facebook, and 6% have made a purchase with Instagram.

5. $1 in every $3 of monthly discretionary income is spent online

Clearly, ecommerce sites have a noticeable influence on how consumers spend their money seeing as how it takes up a third of their monthly discretionary income.

6. More than two-thirds of consumers say they prefer to learn about new products via video

In an age where everything is delivered quickly and waiting isn’t encouraged, it’s no wonder why 68% of consumers said they’d rather learn about a company’s products via short videos and demonstrations while 15% said they preferred text-based articles and 4% said they preferred infographics. By 2018, 81% of businesses used video to market and, in 2019, that is expected to increase to 87%.

7. Sites that take longer to load experience fewer conversions

Websites that load in one to three seconds see higher conversion rates than those take longer to load.

8. 48% of all ecommerce transactions are from repeat customers

New customers are important to business, but repeat customers are also very valuable seeing as how they make up almost 50% of all ecommerce sales. New shoppers have higher bounce rates as they are 50% more likely to leave the site after viewing just one page.

9. Users who click on product recommendations lead to a conversion rate that is 5.5 times higher than nonclicking users

Word of mouth referrals and recommendation are still a popular way to boost conversions. Customers who click on a recommended product have a 70% higher purchase rate.

10. More than 60% of consumers take the time to review the return policy before making a buying decision

If you’re selling products online, a return policy is a must. More than half of all consumers are reading return policies on ecommerce sites before making a purchasing decision. That said, if your return policy is straight forward and reasonable, you can have a better chance of making sales although most shoppers may not even make a return.

11. Email marketing contributes to 20% of traffic driving ecommerce sales

eCommerce websites should include email marketing in their business strategy. It can be a great way to connect with their audience, drive sales, and even pave the way to repeat customers.

12. 69.89% of online shoppers abandon their cart

Shoppers abandon their cart for various reasons, but the most common one is due to the pricing of the products they’re looking to buy. Other reasons include the site prompting them to create an account to purchase or a checkout process that is too long and too complicated.

13. 79% of customers order online via a mobile device

Most consumers are making purchases with their devices. 230 million Americans own a smartphone, and at least 40% of Black Friday deals purchased on a mobile device in 2018.

14. Online stores that have a social presence have 32% more sales on average than online stores that don’t

As you can tell from some of these other ecommerce statistics, social media has a major influence on consumers and ecommerce sales. Establishing a social media presence for your business would be a great way to increase ecommerce sales over time.

15. More than 60 million businesses have a Facebook page

Facebook is a great tool for businesses to use to raise brand awareness and make offers to their products to customers. About 32% of Facebook users engage with brands regularly, and 39% of users like or follow a page to receive an offer.

16. 37% of shoppers use social media to influence their purchases

Have you ever wondered what influences customers to buy online? Global Consumer Insights conducted a survey in 2018 to help highlight these influences. 34% rely on individual retailer websites, 32% use price comparison websites, and 11% use blogs.

Bottom Line

Online marketers should take advantage of these ecommerce statistics to maximize the returns of their campaigns. What are your thoughts about these numbers? Let us know in the comment section below.