More Than Half Of Shoppers Have ‘Abandoned’ E-Commerce, Study Finds

The analysis of more than 58 million shopper baskets in the US and Europe, found that of those that are no longer shopping online, three fifths (60%) say they have reverted to brick-and-mortar locations.

“The overall decline in online customers and their impact on e-commerce growth is significant,”

said Laetitia Berthier, head of client engagement, SymphonyAI Retail CPG.

“Contrary to expectations, the losses are not coming from shoppers who were forced online during the height of the pandemic, but rather those shoppers who had moved online after the pandemic. It’s critical for retailers to understand those customer dynamics and their fast-changing needs to succeed in the critical online channel.”

The loss of customers has had a ‘significant’ impact on e-commerce revenue growth, the research found. While total online revenue growth only dipped by 1% in Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2022, buffered in part by inflation, the study showed a 14% net decline in the total number of online shoppers.

Omnichannel Shoppers

At the same time, as of the first quarter of this year, some 71% of households consider themselves to be omnichannel shoppers – shopping both in-store and online – which is emerging as an increasingly important cohort.

According to SymphonyAI Retail CPG, customers who formerly shopped only in-store, and who have subsequently became omnichannel shoppers, delivered a 15% to 18% increase in incremental sales over the last three years for retailers.

In addition, omnichannel shoppers typically purchase a basket size that is 9% higher than that of strictly in-store shoppers.

ESM