How Often Do People Shop Online in 2024?
Understanding consumers’ ecommerce habits is vital to building an effective growth plan for online businesses. Aside from knowing key online shopping statistics like how many people shop online, having an idea of how often they shop online can give you greater insight into their digital purchasing patterns.
So, how often do people shop online? Here’s a look at the online shopping frequencies of United States consumers.
Online shopping statistics: How often do people shop online in 2024?
|
Online shopping frequency |
Percentage of US ecommerce shoppers who say this is how frequently they purchase things online |
|
Once a day or more |
10% |
|
Once a week or more |
43% |
|
More than once a month |
64% |
|
Once a month or less |
30% |
|
Never |
6% |
How often do people shop online in the US in 2024?
Results from a recent survey show that there’s no straightforward answer to the question, “How often do people shop online.” About one-third (30%) of surveyed US consumers buy things online once a month or less frequently.
Online shopping is also a daily occurrence for many consumers. As many as one in 10 consumers says they buy things online at least once a day. Meanwhile, 43% report doing so at least once a week.
But by and far, the majority of US consumers shop online at least once a month—64% of survey respondents indicate this as their online shopping frequency.
These study results also show that despite ecommerce’s rising share of retail sales, there remains a significant number of people that say they do not shop online—as claimed by 6% of surveyed US consumers.
When do people shop online?
Now that you know how often people shop online, the next crucial data point is when they make these digital purchases. Understanding this allows your business to target them more effectively, increasing the chances of successful engagement.
Recent data on when people shop online shows that Friday is the most popular day for online shopping, followed by Thursday and the weekend. Additionally, online shopping activities tend to surge around lunchtime, peaking around 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Online shopping drivers in 2024
The main driver of online shopping is free delivery. Nearly two-thirds (63.3%) of US consumers list it as a reason to acquire items over the internet. This is followed by the availability of coupons and discounts (49.5%) and the quick, next-day delivery option (41.4%).
Simply understanding how often consumers shop online in the US isn’t enough if your goal is to build and grow your brand. This is because online shopping preferences vary from generation to generation, so strategies catered to your target audience are needed.
For instance, the most popular online shopping category among Gen Z shoppers is clothing and shoes—bought online by 57% of Gen Z consumers. On the other hand, just 27% of baby boomers buy these products online, with more of them (35%) preferring to do so in-store.