The 2021 U.S. Consumer Report is released: This group has the highest frequency of online shopping

It is learned that Statista recently released the "2021 U.S. Consumer Report", which discussed the maturity of the U.S. e-commerce market, delivery preferences, and changing shopping habits.

Online shopping penetration rate in the U.S. exceeds 70%

The report shows that most Americans are happy to shop online. In 2021, 75% of people in the United States shopped online, which is higher than the global average and ahead of the percentage of online shoppers in North American countries as a whole.

When it comes to device usage, smartphones are considered the most popular choice among U.S. consumers, with 65% saying they have used a smartphone to shop in the past 12 months, followed closely by laptops (51%) and desktops (30%).

Additionally, 11% of consumers use smart TVs to shop, 10% use smart speakers (such as Amazon Echo devices) to shop, and 8% use streaming devices (such as Apple TV or Chromecast) to shop.

Age breakdown of online shopping users

In the online shopping groups divided by age, almost all people under the age of 50 use shopping websites. 99% of the population aged 18 to 29 visit shopping websites, while 98% of the population aged 30 to 49 visit shopping websites.

While baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) have seen the biggest increase in internet usage, the 25 to 34 age group has the largest share of online shoppers.

Generation X (people born between 1965 and 1980) shop most frequently online, with 46% shopping online weekly to daily. They also make up a larger share of daily or weekly shoppers in brick-and-mortar stores.

Millennials (people born between 1981 and the mid-1990s) also have a high percentage of daily or weekly online shoppers. Among this group, ages 25 to about 40, 44% shop online daily or weekly, while 49% say they shop in physical stores.

U.S. online shopping consumer preferences

The study found that the biggest annoyance when returning an item online is having to pay for shipping (26%), with retailers including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Zappos and Urban Outfitters offering free returns.

The hassle of having to drop off a package at a mail facility was ranked as the biggest pain point (25%), followed by a lack of exchange options (23%). Some brands and retailers still want consumers to return items for a refund and then order a new one, rather than allowing an exchange.

According to a study by Statista, 56% of consumers said they had not returned any items to a retailer or brand in the past 12 months, so sellers are best served to meet consumer preferences as much as possible.

Editor ✎ Xiao Zhu/

Disclaimer: This article is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission.