The number of households shopping online has increased by 50%, and the US e-commerce industry is booming

Even as consumers resume more in-store shopping behavior, online sales continue to thrive , according to the latest Reopening Shopping Behavior Index from U.S. market research firm Numerator.

Data shows that sales so far in 2021 are about 1.7 times the level of 2020 and twice the level of 2019. The size of online orders increased by 7% compared with 2020, but decreased by 5% compared with 2019, as consumers made more frequent and smaller online orders.

Total spend per shopping trip across channels is still up compared to previous years , up 12% compared to 2020 and 13% compared to 2019, driven primarily by in-store purchases . Consumer orders were larger in 2021 compared to both 2020 and 2019, a trend Numerator expects will likely wane as consumers return to pre-pandemic shopping behaviors .

In a good sign for physical retail, Numerator found that sales in the convenience channel, which was hit hard during the pandemic, are beginning to rebound. In this vertical, sales in 2021 were above year-ago levels for the first time , up 27% compared to 2020, which Numerator said was likely due to increased consumer shopping activity as stores reopened .

In addition, the online retail industry has grown rapidly during the pandemic, and online sales continue to grow compared to previous years as consumers maintain high levels of home consumption . At the same time, while visits to physical store channels are still decreasing, they are slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels.

The research also found that as consumers spend more time at home , home improvement verticals and online sectors continue to see an increase in shopping compared to previous years.

The number of households shopping online has increased by more than 50%

Total household shopping this year was almost the same compared to 2020 and 2019, however , the number of households shopping online increased by more than 30% compared to 2020 and more than 50% compared to 2019.

Many channels saw more home shopping in 2021 compared to previous years , including home improvement ( +37% vs. 2020, +48% vs. 2019 ) , pets ( +19% vs. 2020, +14% vs. 2019 ) , alcohol ( +18%, +21% ) and clubs ( +4%, +17% ) .

Although online sales remain strong as stores reopen, this shows that consumer shopping behavior has changed and will continue to change, so online retailers still have a lot of room to grow.

USA

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E-commerce

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