2023 American Online Shopping Survey Report: How Big is Amazon's Influence?

It is learned that recently, Power of Reviews released its 2023 US Consumer Online Shopping Survey Report. The report is based on a study of more than 8,000 US shoppers and analyzes the main factors currently affecting Americans' shopping.

The report studies four major consumer groups by age, including Generation Z (1997 to present), accounting for 8%; Millennials (1981-1996), accounting for 53%; Generation X (1965-1980), accounting for 29%; and Baby Boomers (1946-1964), accounting for 10%, most of whom are middle-income groups.

Online shopping search behavior

The survey shows that 99.5% of consumers in the United States search and research products online, and 87% search and research online frequently. The proportion of Generation Z doing so is higher than that of Baby Boomers.

Amazon is the preferred channel for most people when searching for online shopping, with 50% of people choosing it, followed by Google (31.5%) and brand or retail websites (14%). But for Generation Z, the preferred channel for their online shopping searches is not Amazon, but Google and social media.

Common online shopping search channels for American consumers

Main online shopping channels

The survey shows that although Amazon is the most popular search and purchase channel, other types of channels also occupy a large share. According to the data, 93.5% of people use Amazon to shop at least once a month, and 92% use Google to shop at least once a month, with little difference between the two.

Common shopping channels for American consumers

Among the four major consumer groups, Amazon is the most used purchasing channel, but it is almost on par with Google, followed by retail websites and brand websites.

The most important factor influencing online shopping: buyer reviews

When it comes to making a purchase decision, some factors are more important than others. This year, customer reviews once again topped the list of factors that influence purchase decisions. 94% of consumers said this content influences their decision to purchase a product. Customer reviews were more influential than product price (93%), free shipping (75%), and free returns or exchanges (63%).

Factors that influence purchasing decisions

The survey pointed out that there are many factors that influence consumers' choice of online shopping channels, and the proportion of consumers who specifically look for websites with buyer reviews is gradually increasing. Generation Z and millennials are more likely to look for websites with reviews than consumers of other age groups.

Similar to Power of Reviews' 2021 study, Amazon once again became the most popular website for consumers to check reviews, with the proportion rising to 94%. It was followed by retail websites such as Target and Walmart (91%). Search engines (70%) and brand websites (68%) are also popular channels for consumers to find buyer reviews.

The most popular review sites for U.S. consumers

Other influencing factors

UGC images and videos

In addition to buyer reviews on brand and retailer websites, UGC content from other channels is increasingly influencing consumer purchasing behavior.

The survey shows that 60% of consumers learn about new products through UGC pictures and videos. 77% of consumers trust UGC content when making purchasing decisions. More than half (53%) of shoppers say this content influences whether they decide to buy a product.

Search engine results

According to the survey, Google is the starting point for most consumers' online shopping searches, so search results have a great influence on consumers' purchasing decisions. 63% of consumers learn about new products through search engine results, and 47% of consumers learn about new products through search results on retail websites.

Social Media

The survey showed that Facebook is the most popular product discovery channel, with 37% of consumers saying they use it to learn about new products. Many consumers trust social media, with Facebook topping the list.

Editor✎ Ashley/

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