Highlights. Over three (3) months, 75% of consumers tried different brands and new ways to shop; developing technologies and pandemic-related shortages seem to have contributed to changes in shopping behavior.
- Among the 36% of consumers who tried a new brand in a three-month period, 73% intend to continue exploring new brands.
- Just over half of shoppers born between 1981 and 2012 (also called Millennials and Generation Z) have purchased products or services through social media.
- 86% of American consumers read online reviews before making a purchase; 66% use a search engine to research companies or products.
- For 94% of consumers, good customer service is enough to inspire brand loyalty.
- Among consumers under 50 years of age, 90.1% have made a purchase on a smartphone.
Consumer Shopping Behavior
Shoppers’ behavior drives consumer spending directly (buying habits) and indirectly (peer influence).
- 82% of consumers make brand and product recommendations based on good customer service.
- 288.5 million Americans shop online retail; 254 million Americans shop on their smartphones.
- 73% of consumers compare prices across three (3) or more retailers before buying.
- 77% of consumers often view return policies prior to buying.
- For 58% of consumers, their primary reason for shopping online for home delivery; 51% say it’s because online shopping is more convenient.
- 57% of consumers research their intended purchases “extensively.”
Consumer Spending Behavior
Americans spend 87.9% of their household’s after-tax income on consumer goods and services.
- While 80% of consumers prioritize cost savings over convenience, 50% are willing to spend more in order to save time.
- 42% consider saving their top priority when shopping.
- 72% of consumers express concern about the increasing costs of everyday purchases.
- Average household consumer spending will total $81,830 in 2025, up 2.94% year-over-year (YoY).
- American consumers will spend $32,732 per person in 2025.
Consumer Holiday Spending Behavior
Most consumers (95.3%) bought gifts for at least one holiday or event in 2024.
- 81.5% of consumers buy birthday gifts.
- Per capita consumer spending on back-to-college is 51.3% higher than spending for winter holiday gifts and celebrations.
- Back-to-college shopping averaged $1,364.75 per capita in 2024 while winter holiday spending was equivalent to $901.99 per capita.
- The average American consumer spends 9.38% more on the Super Bowl ($86.04) than they do for St. Patrick’s Day ($44.40).
Consumer Behavior Online
Buying online can happen virtually anywhere, and smartphones are the most popular devices for online shopping.
- 76% of Americans have bought a product on their smartphone, making it the most-used device for shopping online.
- 69% of consumers have bought online from a desktop or laptop.
- 40% of consumers shop online because it’s cheaper than in-store.
- 36% of consumers shop online for its 24-hour availability; 34% want a wider range of products.
- 30% of consumers shop online because they find it easier to compare products.
- 28% of consumers shop on a tablet, making it the least popular device for online shopping.
- Over five (5) years, online searches for sustainable products increased 71%.
Social Media Consumer Behavior
Shopping via social media is also called social commerce. Peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps and services are increasingly in use among retailers and resellers.
- In 2025, social commerce represents 17.1% of the global e-commerce market.
- By 2030, 18.6% of global e-commerce will be social commerce.
- 51.4% of American adults have used a P2P app; 13.5% do so at least once per week.
- Among P2P users, 59.5% are aged 18 to 44; user penetration in this age group is 85%.
- 73.3% of weekly P2P users are aged 18 to 44.
- 50% of social media users born between 1997 and 2012 (also called Generation Z or Gen Z) have made purchases on social media.
- Among social media consumers born between 1981 and 1996 (Millennials), 51% have made purchases on social media.
- 38% of consumers born between 1995 and 1980 (Generation X or Gen X) and 22% of those born between 1946 and 1964 (Baby Boomers or Boomers) have shopped on social media.
- 58% of Millennials and 54% of Gen Z prefer to use social platforms to find new products as opposed to a search engine.
Cart Abandonment Statistics
Cart abandonment occurs when an online consumer has selected items for purchase but does not complete the payment process.
- If a payment page takes more than 10 seconds to load, 38% of consumers will abandon their purchase.
- Consumers are mostly likely to abandon their cart when shopping for luxury items such as jewelry (82.6% abandonment rate).
- Home goods and beauty products also have cart abandonment rates above 80%.
- Pet products have the lowest cart abandonment rate among shopping categories at 53.6%.
Inflation-Driven Consumer Behavior
In the early 2020s, a worldwide increase in the cost of consumer goods led 96% of global consumers to change their shopping behavior.
- 93% of Americans bought or sold secondhand goods as a direct result of inflation in 2022.
- Average monthly impulse spending declined 17.5% between 2020 and 2023.
- Between 2022 and 2023, impulse spending declined 51.9%.
- In response to global inflation, 22% of consumers reduced spending by shopping less in 2023.
- 20% of consumers opted for less expensive options than they would have before inflation; 16% opted for higher quality items that would last longer.
- 10% of consumers bought more pre-owned items in 2023 in response to global inflation.
- 14% of consumers reduced spending on entertainment, experiences, and activities.
- 14% of consumers focused on saving more and making investments in 2023.
- 52% of American consumers struggled to purchase basic necessities in 2022.
Eco-Driven Consumer Behavior
American consumers are most likely to shop eco-friendly to improve the environment and climate sustainability.
- 54% of consumers want product packaging to include its impact on biodiversity.
- 29% of U.S. consumers shop sustainably for environmental reasons; 27% say shopping sustainably aligns with their personal values.
- 23% of sustainable shoppers in the U.S. want to reduce production waste; 22% want to reduce their own carbon footprint.
- 17% of American consumers shop sustainably to reduce factory waste such as emissions and water waste.
- 17% of Americans shop sustainable consumer goods to improve animal welfare.
- 16% of U.S. consumers believe shopping sustainably leads to ethical trade and better treatment for workers.
Consumer Reselling Behavior
More than half of consumers who participate in the online reselling market (also called recommerce) do so as a result of inflation.
- 78% of consumers purchase resold items online with the goal to find a “good deal.”
- 66.5% of consumers who sell their own second-hand items do most or all of their reselling online.
- 13.6% do most of their reselling in garage sales; 12.4% do most reselling in physical stores.
- The U.S. online resale market was worth $207.20 billion in 2024.
- If trends continue, online recommerce in the U.S. will be worth $291.60 billion by 2029.
Consumer Behavior by Generation
New products and technologies have a greater impact on younger consumers.
- 92% of Gen Z and Millennial consumers use mobile apps to shop.
- 70% of Gen Z and Millennial consumers browse on mobile devices; 53% make purchases on their phones.
- 53% of Gen Z and Millennial consumers prefer to shop in brick-and-mortar establishments; 32% prefer to shop online.
- Compared to other generations, consumers born before 1946 (also called the Silent and Greatest Generations) spend the greatest share of their after-tax income on healthcare
Generation Z Consumer Behavior
Generation Z has made more purchases on social media in 2024 than any other generation.
- Social media influences 84% of consumers born between 1997 and 2012 (Generation Z or Gen Z) in their purchases.
- 57% of Gen Z consumers would buy a product based on an influencer’s recommendation; 40% would buy based on a friend’s post.
- 55% of Gen Z consumers regularly use social media to learn about new products.
- 53% of Gen Z shoppers purchased products on social media in 2024.
- Annual consumer spending in Gen Z-led households represents 92.7% of their income.
- Gen Z households spend the smallest share of their income on healthcare (4.13%) compared to other generations.
- Consumers in Gen Z also spend the largest share of after-tax income on dining out (6.23%).
- Excluding housing and transportation, Gen Z households spend the largest portion of their income (12.93%) on food.
- Gen Z households spent an average of $52,891 in 2023.
Millennial Consumer Behavior
Millennials spend the lowest share of after-tax income (83.4%) among generations.
- 48% of Millennials would make a purchase based on a friend’s recommendation; 44% of Millennials would buy a product based on an influencer’s post.
- 47% of Millennials regularly learn about new products on social media.
- 45% of Millennial shoppers purchased products on social media in 2024.
- Excluding housing and transportation, Millennial households spend the largest portion of their income (13.3%) on food.
- Millennial households spent an average of $81,589 in 2023.
Generation X Consumer Behavior
The average Gen X consumer has more disposable income than other generations.
- 31% of Gen X shoppers purchased products on social media in 2024.
- Consumer spending among Generation X represents 84.0% of their household income.
- Gen X households spend a slightly larger share of their income on food (12.9%) than other generations.
- Gen X households spent an average of $95,692 in 2023.
Baby Boomer Consumer Behavior
Most Baby Boomers or Boomers did not make a purchase on a social media platform in 2024.
- 13% of Boomers made a purchase via social media in 2024.
- Consumer spending among Baby Boomers represents 94.6% of their income.
- Boomers spend a slightly larger share of their income on groceries (8.08%) than other generations.
- Excluding housing and transportation, Boomers spend the largest portion of their income (12.8%) on food.
- Boomer-led households spent an average of $70,207 in 2023.
Silent & Greatest Generations Consumer Behavior
The eldest generations have the highest spending-to-income ratio, and their healthcare spending represents a 97.4% greater share of their income than the average consumer’s.
- Consumer spending for Americans born before 1946 (Silent & Greatest Generations) represents 108.2% of income after taxes.
- Excluding housing and transportation, healthcare spending represents the largest portion of Silent & Greatest Gen spending (15.7%).
- Food costs account for 12.2% of Silent & Greatest Gen consumer spending.
- Silent & Greatest Generations consumers spent $49,206 in 2023.
Consumer Behavior by Region
Midwestern consumers spend a slightly larger portion of their after-tax income than other U.S. regions.
- Midwesterners spend 89.6% of their after-tax income on consumer products and service; annual spending averages $72,575.
- Consumers in the Midwest spend the largest share of their income on groceries (8.29%) compared to consumers in other regions.
- Southern consumer spending is the lowest both as a dollar amount (annual average $68,364) and as a share of after-tax income (86.2%).
- Western consumers spend a greater share of their after-tax income on dining out (5.34%) than consumers in any other region.
- Consumers in the West spend an average of $89,510 per year.
- Northeastern consumers spend an average of $87,445 per year.
- The average Northeastern consumer is less likely to own a vehicle (82% ownership rate) and spends a lower share of after-tax income (15.9%) on transportation than consumers in other regions.
The Capital One Shopping team compiled these data and insights based on publicly available data.
Sources
- World Economic Forum
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys
- Home Furnishings Association, Resources
- Licensing International, News
- UN Global Compact Network USA, News
- Statista, Industry Overview
- Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Research
- U.S. Census Bureau, National Population by Characteristics