ONLINE SHOPPERS DEMOGRAPHICS: THE STATISTICS YOU NEED TO KNOW

As an online retailer or business person, it’s important to have a detailed statistic of the behavioral patterns of most shoppers, especially your target audience. These statistics include a vast majority of factors put in place to arrive at a detailed summary of how online shoppers utilize online shopping platforms.

The knowledge of online demographics is a cardinal point of any successful online business store. This means that you can’t ignore the stats and data out there and expect to beat rivals who have this knowledge at the back of their palms. It’s also difficult to sustain the level of success if the analytics department is not up to speed with the latest market trend.

What we’ve put together today is a detailed analysis of what online demographics are, the top demographics that affect the online business world, the relevance of this data to online store owners, and ways to effectively maximize the data provided. So let’s get started, shall we?

What Are Online Demographics And How Do They Affect The Online Store?

We’ll start off by explaining, in the easiest of terms, what online demographics are. Simply put, it is the general view of a shopping population, taking into account the age, income, gender, schooling as well as occupation of the target audience. This aims to guide how online marketers approach their target audience based on the results of their behavioral patterns analysis.

Online demographic is the spine of every online store. This is why it is vital for this statistic to be properly utilized for effective marketing and optimum customer experience.

With that in mind, we can get down to the juicy, nerdy stuff; the online shopping statistics. We’re going to take an in-depth look into the online demographics, how they work, how the online store is projected to develop in the future, and what it means for online business owners.

An In-depth Look At The Statistics Shaping The Online Business Ecosystem

Firstly, it is important to recall that In the first quarter of 2014, 198 million U.S. consumers shopped online, according to comScore’s quarterly State Of Retail report. That translates to 78% of the U.S. population age 15 and above. 

Now, there’s a great rise as almost 4 trillion people hit online stores in 2020. And the number of online shoppers in the US alone is projected to reach 300 million in 2023. That’s 91% of the country’s current population!

Now let’s get down to the different categories:

1. Gender

There’s a tendency to drive towards the female gender when creating an online store since women drive the shopping trends in the mortar and bricks store. This is due to accounting for over 80% of household shopping. 

Despite this, it’s actually different for online stores. In fact, recent studies have shown that in the sector of e-commerce, men spend nearly as much as women do and are more likely to make purchases on their mobile devices. More women shop online yet a higher percentage of men shop more on their mobile devices.

Therefore, an equal approach to both genders is the effective measure to take when considering the type of business to set up online as well as the desired customers.

2. Age

The next vital factor to consider is the age group of your target audience. 

Age is a vital factor that shapes the choices made by the consumer. What may interest a teenager may offer little or no interest to the older citizens. So, how do you utilize this disparity between the different age groups?

Firstly, it’s important to note the different age classes: Millennials, Gen Z, Boomers and Seniors. Each category has its unique age bracket with similar market behaviors.

The Millennials are those consumers aged 18 to 34. They remain the key age demographic for online commerce, spending more money online in a given year than any other age group. They spend around $2,000 annually on e-commerce. Notwithstanding the fact that they earn less than older adults. 

Boomers and seniors have adopted mobile commerce. One in four mobile shoppers in the U.S. is over the age of 55. That’s about even with their share of the overall U.S. population. 

3. Income

The amount of money made determines how much money will be spent on online shopping. It’s simple math. You can’t outspend your income and budget. Therefore, this particular demographic affects the product pricing and determines how the online retailers market their products as well as the extra fees involved.

Online shoppers tend to live in households with higher-than-typical incomes. An Experian survey found that 55% of e-commerce shoppers in the U.S. live in households with incomes above $75,000 (40% were in households earning $100,000 and above). 

The median household income in the U.S. is around $50,000, according to the Census.

It’s important to note that a large chunk of the abandoned online shopping carts are as a result of unexpected costs. 

Miscellaneous Statistics To Take Note Of

After digesting the core demographics that influence customer behavior, it’s important to take note of other key areas that affect the amount of customers that’ll engage in online business:

• User Experience: The major target of your online store is the customers. Therefore, the experience they encounter on your platform is crucial to turning visitors into loyal customers, or deterring them away.
• Products Presentation: How well do you market your products and how much details are provided? Also, ensure your website is attractive enough to keep your target audience intrigued about what’s in store.
• Mobile Shopping: Smartphones aren’t the online tools used to shop online, but 65% check for price comparisons while they’re physically shopping in a store. Customer acts, like price comparison, have influenced 51% of shoppers to purchase from a company other than the one they originally intended to.
• SEO Optimization: Google shopping is the new wave. More customers tend to find out about product details on Google first before heading to the online stores. This is where you need to employ your best marketing strategies. How you present your stores online will affect how much customers troop in.

CONCLUSION

Online shopping is growing rapidly and it’s important for online retailers to know who their potential customers are, how they behave, and what the majority prefers in order to arrive at an effective means of online business marketing.

It doesn’t stop there, periodic checks on consumer behavior as well as other online demographics are important for sustainable business growth. Therefore, it’s important to get the information right, but how you utilize that information is what matters most.