Highlights. Online consumers spend the most on clothing & accessories, followed by home furnishings, consumer electronics, and personal care products.
- American consumers are most likely to buy their apparel and accessories online as opposed to in-store.
- Automotive and food & beverage products have the fastest year-over-year (YoY) online sales growth among all product categories, up 21.4% and 17.2%, respectively.
- Consumers were 15.5% more likely to buy groceries online in 2023 than they were in 2022.
- eCommerce sales grew 9.62% from 2023 to 2024, resulting in a total of $1.362 trillion in sales.
- Online shopping makes up 15.9% of total U.S. retail sales, up 6.39% from 2023.
What Americans Buy Most Online
In the United States, people are more likely to buy clothing and electronics than perishable groceries.
- 18.3% of retail revenue for clothing and accessories comes from online purchases.
- 15.7% of computer and consumer electronics retail sales are online.
- 15.7% of furniture and home decor sales revenue comes from online purchases.
- 11.3% of retail revenue for health and personal care comes from online purchases.
- In 2024, 43% of American consumers purchased clothing online; 33% purchased shoes.
- 27% of Americans purchase food and beverages online, excluding restaurant delivery.
- 24% of U.S. consumers purchase cosmetics or body care products online, while 22% purchase pet products.
What Americans Prefer to Purchase Online
Consumer preferences for buying items online vary by product category.
- 36.6% of Americans prefer to purchase their personal electronics online.
- 6.25% more likely to purchase home goods online instead of in-store.
- 35% of American consumers primarily purchase their apparel and footwear online.
- 31% of American shoppers primarily purchase their home goods online.
- 29% of American shoppers primarily purchase their personal care and beauty online.
- 19% of American consumers primarily purchase their groceries online.
What Americans Buy Most Online & In-Store
Most consumers shop online as well as in-store, usually due to preference, need, or availability.
- 25% of consumers purchase their apparel and footwear online and in-store in equal measure.
- 40% of consumers purchase their home goods online and in-store in equal measure.
- 22% of consumers purchase their personal care and beauty products online and in-store in equal measure.
- 20% of consumers purchase their groceries online and in-store in equal measure.
| Product category | 2023 Sales Revenue (in billions) |
YoY Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Computer & consumer electronics | $291.3 | 13.9% |
| Apparel & accessories | $277.9 | 14.5% |
| Furniture & home furnishings | $139.1 | 8.9% |
| Health, personal care & beauty | $129.4 | 14.4% |
| Auto & parts | $121.6 | 21.4% |
| Food & beverage | $90.4 | 17.2% |
| Toys & hobby | $89.8 | 11.2% |
| Other | $88.2 | 3.9% |
| Books, music & video | $69.5 | 8.3% |
| Office equipment & supplies | $27.0 | 12.6% |
What Foods Americans Buy Most Online
Online grocery shopping has become increasingly popular among Americans.
- In 2023, 82% of American households purchased groceries online over a three-month period.
- The top three food items in terms of the number of shoppers purchasing online are non-perishable foods (78%), soft drinks (67%), and fresh food (61%).
- From 2017 to 2023, the share of shoppers purchasing soft drinks online grew by 103%.
- In 2023, 87.5% more shoppers purchased frozen foods online than in 2017.
| Product Category | Share of Online Grocery Shoppers Purchasing | YoY Change 2022-2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Non-perishable foods | 78% | 11.4% |
| Personal care items | 77% | 10.0% |
| Home care items | 73% | 10.6% |
| Soft drinks | 67% | 9.8% |
| Fresh food | 61% | 8.9% |
| Frozen foods | 60% | 11.1% |
| Alcoholic beverages | 23% | 15.0% |
| Baby care items | 22% | 10.0% |
Where Americans Buy Online
Americans often select different online resources when shopping for different products, purchasing groceries from a different website than they purchase shoes.
- American consumers spend 15.9% of retail sales dollars on e-commerce websites.
- Walmart earns the most online grocery sales revenue at $7.76 trillion in 2024.
- Americans spend 488% more on Amazon than they spend at Walmart, the second-highest performing online retailer.
- Among online retailers, Amazon has a 37.6% market share.
- 34.5% of online clothes sales are purchased on Amazon.
- 11.5% of all apparel sales are on Amazon.
Why Americans Buy Online
In recent years, consumers have been motivated more by brand values and less by simplifying their lives.
- 44% of shoppers are purpose-driven, meaning they prefer products and brands that are sustainable, environmentally friendly, and healthier.
- Online shoppers in 2022 were 10.0% more likely to be purpose-driven than shoppers were in 2020.
- 37% of shoppers buy based on product value and convenience.
- Consumers were 9.76% less likely to purchase based on product value in 2022 than in 2020.
- 15% of shoppers buy based on brand names, up 7.14% from 2020.
- 4% of shoppers buy solely based on functionality, down 33.3% from 2020.
These data and insights were compiled by the Capital One Shopping team based on publicly available data.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail
- Morning Consult, Retail & E-commerce
- National Retail Federation
- Power Reviews, Grocery and CPG
- Statista, E-commerce
- eMarketer, Insider Intelligence