The Consumer Behaviour Trends Shaping Ecommerce
This Online Shopping Report provides insight into the consumer behaviours shaping the ecommerce industry and examines data from previous years to highlight evolving trends and change.
A recurring theme in 2023 is a tightening of shoppers’ finances. As households deal with less available cash due to cost-of-living pressures, the frequency of smaller purchases is increasing, while larger financial outlays show a decline.
Credit cards are also getting a workout as BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) methods decrease. Interestingly, those using BNPL do so more frequently when insufficient savings are available.
The robust return to in-store shopping over the last year has seen a tapering of ecommerce sales. However, digital and multichannel purchasing habits have cemented themselves in consumer behaviour. For example, nearly four out of five shoppers say BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup in Store or Click and Collect) and cross-channel returns processes encourage them to spend more with omnichannel and multichannel retailers.
Fashion is now the most desired category to buy from multichannel retailers, reflecting the experiential advantage of re-fitting, replacing, and refunding fashion items in-store versus online-only ordering. Fashion also holds the top spot for the most ordered product category, following the “Other” category. In line with the rising popularity of variety stores and online marketplaces, the order frequency of “Other” items has increased steadily over the last three years.
The findings in this report offer a window into shopper attitudes, concerns, and priorities to help retailers adjust strategies and respond to changing consumer demands. For example, a lack of trust in website security makes 92% of shoppers likely to abandon cart. 97% are also unlikely to complete their order due to unexpected charges at the checkout.
Is your security up-to-scratch, and are you up-front with shoppers about all associated order fees, coupon offers, and payment methods before they reach the checkout?
Read on to see which areas of the online customer experience have the most impact.
BIGCOMMERCE 2023 data and comparison to previous years offer detailed findings across shopper purchasing behaviours, cart abandonment, delivery expectations, loyalty programs, brand engagement, and social media effectiveness.
