Despite how easy it is to launch a website, scaling an online business remains extremely difficult even for the most seasoned e-commerce expert. E-commerce sales are growing, but many retailers are struggling to capitalize on consumer shopping habits.

consumer shopping habits — Consumer shopping habits.

The secret to success in the future is no longer just get it out there and see how it performs. The most successful retailers are strategic and targeted in their efforts, both offline and on.

Effectively targeting a ready-to-buy audience, though, requires solid data and statistics on your customers. For most small and mid-market e-commerce businesses, bandwidth is low and resources even sparser.

Conducting such high-level research to gain a full industry view of who buys what, where. And why it so costly and heavy on time.

Dive in, or get more information about the methodology of this study. You may also get the full visual data and analysis on what this means for the industry as a whole.

Here is some research that will help you. Below, you’ll find e-commerce trends, data, and statistics reporting on exactly how Americans shop online.

It will also show you why customers convert and why they don’t. And finally, you will get some ideas on who your business should be targeting on the various online channels.

This data gives you a window into what consumers look for in an online shopping experience. It will also showcase the potential to adapt your e-commerce business to fit the modern shopper.

These findings can percolate through every aspect of your business. They include product pages, emails, content marketing and much more.

Online shopping

Online shopping is no longer a trend. It is the most significant shopping type there is. Here is why.

51% of Americans prefer to shop online
96% of Americans have made an online purchase in their life, 80% in the past month alone
E-commerce is growing 23% year-over-year. Despite this, 46% of American small businesses do not have a website
Online orders increase 8.9% in Q3 2016, but average order value (AOV) increased only 0.2%. This is indicating that transactional growth is outpacing total revenue

E-commerce trends by generation

If you wonder what the results will be over the next 10-20 years, wonder no more.

67% of Millennials and 56% of Gen Xers prefer to shop on online rather than in-store.
41% of Baby Boomers and 28% of Seniors will click to purchase.
Millennials and Gen Xers spend 6 hours per week shopping online
Baby Boomers spend 4 hours per week shopping online.
Seniors spend 2.5 hours per week shopping online.

E-commerce trends by parental status

Are you considering targeting families with children? If so, pay attention to these statistics. They are surprising in their comparison to non-children families.

Parents spend more of their budget online in comparison to non-parents (40% vs. 34%). They spend 75% more time online shopping each week (7 hours vs. 4 hours for non-parents).
Parents spend 61% more online than non-parents ($1,071 vs. $664).

E-commerce trends by gender

These results surprised me since I expected women to be the prominent shopper in the household.

Men reported spending 28% more online than women during the past year.
Men and women both report spending 5 hours per week shopping online.

E-commerce trends by city-size

These results did NOT surprise me.

Customers in large or mid-size metropolitan areas spend more online annually ($853) than suburban shoppers ($768) or those in rural areas ($684).
Americans in metropolitan areas are spending the most online.
Americans in metropolitan areas report spending 4.5 hours per week shopping online.
Americans in suburban and rural areas both spend 5 hours per week shopping online.

Buying frequency

95% of Americans shop online at least yearly.
80% of Americans shop online at least monthly.
30% of Americans shop online at least weekly.
5% of Americans shop online daily.

Types of online goods purchased

types of buying habits — Types of buying habits

60% of shoppers have purchased clothing, shoes and accessories items from large retailers. 54% were at marketplaces, 44% from category-specific and 45% from websites.
43% of online shoppers have purchased computers or electronics from marketplaces. 41% were from large retailers, 29% at category-specific online stores and 17% at websites.
34% of shoppers have purchased beauty items at marketplaces. 31% were at large retailers, 29% at websites and 25% at category-specific online stores.
55% of shoppers have purchased books, movies and music shop at marketplaces. 36% were at large retailers, 24% at websites and 21% at category-specific online stores.

Consumer shopping habits … influencing factors on conversion rates

The top three factors that are very or extremely influential in determining where Americans shop are price (87%), shipping cost and speed (80%) and discount offers (71%).
Social media recommendations influence almost a quarter of online shoppers (23%).
42% online customers find recommendations from friends and family influential. This is twice the number who cite advertisements as influential when determining where to shop.
Younger generations are more receptive to advertising. Millennials and Gen X are twice as likely as older generations (27% vs. 14%) to be influenced by advertising.
23% of shoppers are influenced by social media recommendations/reviews.
66% of online shoppers have decided not to buy an item because of shipping costs.
72% of females and 59% of males have decided to abandon their purchase because of shipping costs.

Social media as an influencing factor on conversion rates

As social commerce continues to grow, these trends are indicative of the massive potential for retailers to connect with shoppers on their favorite platforms.

30% of online shoppers say they would be likely to purchase a social media network like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat.
20% of online shoppers would be likely to purchase on Facebook.
17% of online shoppers would be likely to purchase on Pinterest.
51% of Millennials would be likely to purchase via social media.
36% of Gen Xers would be likely to purchase via social media.
14% of Baby Boomers would be likely to purchase via social media.

Spending and conversion rates

51% of Americans think shopping online is the best way to shop, with 49% preferring shopping in-store.
Americans spend 64% of their shopping budget in-store, and 36% online.
In the last year, shoppers have spent the most with e-commerce marketplaces ($488), closely followed by major online/offline brands ($409) such as Nordstrom or Best Buy.
52% of smartphone owners use online banking (or e-banking). This is indicative of a further trend towards mobile shopping

Customer location at time of purchase

A quarter of online shoppers (25%) have made an online purchase from a brick-and-mortar store.
43% of online shoppers have purchased while in bed.

Large retailer shopper characteristics and trends

Shoppers on large retailer sites are high spends. They are less likely to shop elsewhere.
Those who have ever shopped at a large online/offline retailer are less likely to research brands before making a purchase (53%). This is in comparison to those who shop at small/ specialty (58%), marketplaces (61%) or category-specific (61) online retailers.
Average amount spent per year: $409.
What larger retailer shoppers buy: Book, movies, music (28%), Clothing, shoes and accessories (47%), Computers and electronics (32%), Health and beauty products (24%).

Online store shopper characteristics and trends

Shoppers on websites enjoy shopping and visit a variety of retailers.
Small/ specialty online shoppers spend the majority of their budget elsewhere. This includes a yearly average of $501 on marketplaces, $404 at omnichannel retailers and $233 at category-specific online retailers.
Those who have ever shopped at a small/ specialty online retailer are more likely than the average shopper to say they enjoy shopping (55% to 45%).
Average amount spent per year: $182.
What website shoppers buy: Book, movies, music (15%), Clothing, shoes and accessories (27%), flowers and gifts (15%), Health and beauty products(19%).

For more information, see the full data analysis here.

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Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.

Despite how easy it is to launch a website, scaling an online business remains extremely difficult even for the most seasoned e-commerce expert. E-commerce sales are growing, but many retailers are struggling to capitalize on consumer shopping habits.

The secret to success in the future is no longer just get it out there and see how it performs. The most successful retailers are strategic and targeted in their efforts, both offline and on.

Effectively targeting a ready-to-buy audience, though, requires solid data and statistics on your customers. For most small and mid-market e-commerce businesses, bandwidth is low and resources even sparser.

Conducting such high-level research to gain a full industry view of who buys what, where. And why it so costly and heavy on time.

Dive in, or get more information about the methodology of this study. You may also get the full visual data and analysis on what this means for the industry as a whole.

Here is some research that will help you. Below, you’ll find e-commerce trends, data, and statistics reporting on exactly how Americans shop online.

It will also show you why customers convert and why they don’t. And finally, you will get some ideas on who your business should be targeting on the various online channels.

This data gives you a window into what consumers look for in an online shopping experience. It will also showcase the potential to adapt your e-commerce business to fit the modern shopper.

These findings can percolate through every aspect of your business. They include product pages, emails, content marketing and much more.

Online shopping

Online shopping is no longer a trend. It is the most significant shopping type there is. Here is why.

51% of Americans prefer to shop online

96% of Americans have made an online purchase in their life, 80% in the past month alone

E-commerce is growing 23% year-over-year. Despite this, 46% of American small businesses do not have a website

Online orders increase 8.9% in Q3 2016, but average order value (AOV) increased only 0.2%. This is indicating that transactional growth is outpacing total revenue

Related post: Building a Customer Experience Strategy for Business Success

E-commerce trends by generation

If you wonder what the results will be over the next 10-20 years, wonder no more.

67% of Millennials and 56% of Gen Xers prefer to shop on online rather than in-store.

41% of Baby Boomers and 28% of Seniors will click to purchase.

Millennials and Gen Xers spend 6 hours per week shopping online

Baby Boomers spend 4 hours per week shopping online.

Seniors spend 2.5 hours per week shopping online.

E-commerce trends by parental status

Are you considering targeting families with children? If so, pay attention to these statistics. They are surprising in their comparison to non-children families.

Parents spend more of their budget online in comparison to non-parents (40% vs. 34%). They spend 75% more time online shopping each week (7 hours vs. 4 hours for non-parents).

Parents spend 61% more online than non-parents ($1,071 vs. $664).

E-commerce trends by gender

These results surprised me since I expected women to be the prominent shopper in the household.

Men reported spending 28% more online than women during the past year.

Men and women both report spending 5 hours per week shopping online.

E-commerce trends by city-size

These results did NOT surprise me.

Customers in large or mid-size metropolitan areas spend more online annually ($853) than suburban shoppers ($768) or those in rural areas ($684).

Americans in metropolitan areas are spending the most online.

Americans in metropolitan areas report spending 4.5 hours per week shopping online.

Americans in suburban and rural areas both spend 5 hours per week shopping online.

Buying frequency

95% of Americans shop online at least yearly.

80% of Americans shop online at least monthly.

30% of Americans shop online at least weekly.

5% of Americans shop online daily.

Types of online goods purchased

60% of shoppers have purchased clothing, shoes and accessories items from large retailers. 54% were at marketplaces, 44% from category-specific and 45% from websites.

43% of online shoppers have purchased computers or electronics from marketplaces. 41% were from large retailers, 29% at category-specific online stores and 17% at websites.

34% of shoppers have purchased beauty items at marketplaces. 31% were at large retailers, 29% at websites and 25% at category-specific online stores.

55% of shoppers have purchased books, movies and music shop at marketplaces. 36% were at large retailers, 24% at websites and 21% at category-specific online stores.

Consumer shopping habits … influencing factors on conversion rates

The top three factors that are very or extremely influential in determining where Americans shop are price (87%), shipping cost and speed (80%) and discount offers (71%).

Social media recommendations influence almost a quarter of online shoppers (23%).

42% online customers find recommendations from friends and family influential. This is twice the number who cite advertisements as influential when determining where to shop.

Younger generations are more receptive to advertising. Millennials and Gen X are twice as likely as older generations (27% vs. 14%) to be influenced by advertising.

23% of shoppers are influenced by social media recommendations/reviews.

66% of online shoppers have decided not to buy an item because of shipping costs.

72% of females and 59% of males have decided to abandon their purchase because of shipping costs.

Related post: Client Satisfaction …10 Secrets to Improve Customer Experience

Social media as an influencing factor on conversion rates

As social commerce continues to grow, these trends are indicative of the massive potential for retailers to connect with shoppers on their favorite platforms.

30% of online shoppers say they would be likely to purchase a social media network like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat.

20% of online shoppers would be likely to purchase on Facebook.

17% of online shoppers would be likely to purchase on Pinterest.

51% of Millennials would be likely to purchase via social media.

36% of Gen Xers would be likely to purchase via social media.

14% of Baby Boomers would be likely to purchase via social media.

Spending and conversion rates

51% of Americans think shopping online is the best way to shop, with 49% preferring shopping in-store.

Americans spend 64% of their shopping budget in-store, and 36% online.

In the last year, shoppers have spent the most with e-commerce marketplaces ($488), closely followed by major online/offline brands ($409) such as Nordstrom or Best Buy.

52% of smartphone owners use online banking (or e-banking). This is indicative of a further trend towards mobile shopping

Customer location at time of purchase

A quarter of online shoppers (25%) have made an online purchase from a brick-and-mortar store.

43% of online shoppers have purchased while in bed.

Large retailer shopper characteristics and trends

Shoppers on large retailer sites are high spends. They are less likely to shop elsewhere.

Those who have ever shopped at a large online/offline retailer are less likely to research brands before making a purchase (53%). This is in comparison to those who shop at small/ specialty (58%), marketplaces (61%) or category-specific (61) online retailers.

Average amount spent per year: $409.

What larger retailer shoppers buy: Book, movies, music (28%), Clothing, shoes and accessories (47%), Computers and electronics (32%), Health and beauty products (24%).

Online store shopper characteristics and trends

Shoppers on websites enjoy shopping and visit a variety of retailers.

Small/ specialty online shoppers spend the majority of their budget elsewhere. This includes a yearly average of $501 on marketplaces, $404 at omnichannel retailers and $233 at category-specific online retailers.