Online shopping behavior in the United States - statistics & facts

What and where do American consumers buy online?

Consumers in the United States can and do buy all kinds of products from a variety of retail platforms and online marketplaces, such as Amazon.com, eBay.com, and Walmart.com. Some types of products, however, are more frequently purchased online than others: for example, American shoppers often bought major reasons why U.S. shoppers like ordering from online stores include the convenience of having items delivered to their doorstep, the frequently cheaper prices, and the greater product range.

Shopping in a pandemic

The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, swept the world in 2020 and caused a vast array of lifestyle and behavioral changes in order to prevent the infection from spreading. People stayed at home, kept socially distant from one another, and many more were not shopping as frequently as they normally would. During the many weeks and months since the virus was considered a public health emergency, over 80 percent of consumers in the United States claimed the pandemic had had an impact on their usual shopping habits. While the crisis had caused a drop in physical store shopping, it also caused a major boost in the number of online shoppers in many cases.

With the majority of people being vaccinated against the virus as of 2022, measures have loosened up and life has returned close to normal. Many consumers in the U.S. and other large European countries had stated that they would once again do most of their shopping in stores as the pandemic subsides. That being said, a considerable share did say the wished to continue shopping online most of the time, while others planned to apply a healthy mix of both channels going forward.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.