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 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 30.1% and 20.7%, respectively.
- 19% of American consumers primarily purchase their groceries online.
- Consumers were 29.2% more likely to buy groceries online in 2022 than they were in 2020.
- eCommerce sales grew 10.0% from 2022 to 2023, resulting in a total $1.148 trillion in sales.
- Online shopping makes up 15.6% of total U.S. retail sales, up 6.12% from 2022.
What Americans Buy Most Online
In the United States, people are more likely to buy home electronics and media 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.
- 37.1% of Americans prefer to purchase their personal electronics 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.
- 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.
| Product category | 2023 Sales Revenue (in billions) |
YoY Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Computer & consumer electronics | $255.79 | 14.1% |
| Apparel & accessories | $242.70 | 14.6% |
| Furniture & home furnishings | $127.71 | 9.3% |
| Health, personal care & beauty | $113.10 | 14.7% |
| Auto & parts | $100.14 | 22.7% |
| Other | $84.92 | 4.1% |
| Toys & hobby | $80.77 | 11.4% |
| Food & beverage | $77.12 | 19.6% |
| Books, music & video | $64.15 | 9.9% |
| Office equipment & supplies | $24.00 | 13.6% |
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.
What Foods Americans Buy Most Online
Statistics indicate shoppers may be more likely to buy groceries online in colder months.
- 2.4% of produce sold in the United States is purchased online.
- The share of fresh produce purchased online increased 41.2% from 2020 to 2021.
- Between 2019 and 2020, produce sales online increased 142.9%.
- The top three fresh grocery items in terms of online sales revenue are ground beef (6.1%), chicken breast (5.2%), and berries (4.9%).
- Online consumers spend 17.3% more on ground beef than they spend on chicken breast (more than any other grocery item).
| Product Category | Online Share |
|---|---|
| Ground beef | 6.1% |
| Chicken breast | 5.2% |
| Berries | 4.9% |
| Bacon | 3.4% |
| Apples | 2.9% |
| Tomatoes | 2.0% |
| Salad kits | 1.7% |
| Potatoes | 1.7% |
| Lettuce | 1.6% |
| Avocados | 1.6% |
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 15.0% of retail sales dollars on e-commerce websites.
- Walmart earns the most online grocery sales revenue at $5.81 trillion.
- 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
- Information Resources, Inc., Fresh Produce in the Era of Inflation and Beyond
- Statista, E-commerce
- Insider Intelligence