Top Reasons Consumers Shop Online

Online shopping is here to stay — and for good reason. The convenience of tech-enabled shopping has become an essential mainstay in the age of COVID-19.

Ecommerce is continuing to dominate the consumer playing field as spending preferences and comfort levels radically shift with our new normal. And with the many perks of online shopping, it’s no surprise that consumers have turned to screens instead of stores. 

In fact, 43% of consumers say they would be fine if they never shopped in a physical store again, and nearly three-quarters of consumers (73%) believe the majority of consumer shopping will happen online in the future.

Here are the reasons consumers opt to shop online, ranked by popularity.

1. Lower prices

Price is one of the strongest factors influencing a consumer’s decision to purchase: when shopping online, 70% of consumers are shopping for less expensive products. Coupled with the fact that more than half of NZ consumers (56%) say they are living “paycheck to paycheck,” it makes sense that shoppers are looking online to explore the most affordable options.

2. Convenience

In 2021, convenience continues to be the gold standard. 37% of consumers say their online spending has increased over the last three months of 2020 — even while overall spending dropped. Consumers favor shopping online for ease alone. In a few minutes, you can order a product, confirm payment, and see its shipping status from the comfort of your home or in the palm of your hand. 

3. Price comparison

Nearly 3 out of 4 consumers are becoming more conscientious of where they spend their money (offline and online). They can whittle down wishlists by assessing the competition and easily navigate from one product page to another to find the best price in a few clicks.

4. More product options

Consumers want to easily compare products by price, reviews, and features and have become more discerning in the product selection process. For almost all product categories, consumers prefer to shop online for greater variety. The only exceptions are essential products like groceries, cleaning products, and over-the-counter medicines and other items like beauty and personal care and alcohol. 

5. Fast shipping

Consumers want their products delivered as soon as possible. 48% of online shoppers are willing to pay extra money for faster shipping, and 55% of shoppers would do the same.

6. Safety (avoiding public stores)

Despite decreased COVID-19 cases and strides in vaccine rollouts, more consumers are shopping online to minimize potential exposure by avoiding physical stores. 60% of consumers have a greater appreciation for online shopping now than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic; 60% of consumers say they are shopping on online stores more frequently than they did before the pandemic, too.

7. Products only sold online

Some specialty, limited-edition, or branded products are exclusively available online. In that case, online shopping is the only avenue for purchase. Some direct-to-consumer brands like Warby Parker, Casper, and Allbirds built huge businesses entirely online and have since expanded to physical stores.