According to a global survey carried out during the second quarter of 2023, around ** percent of Gen X online shoppers wished e-commerce sites would enhance frictionless payment methods. Additionally, some ** percent of surveyed Millennials would like to have personalized products recommended when shopping online, an option which appealed to the same percentage of Gen Z online shoppers. E-commerce companies seem to have listened to their audience. In 2021, almost seven in ten professionals from e-commerce businesses stated personalization will be a key investment area in the future. Personalization drives conversion rates Investing in a personalized shopping experience pays off. A 2021 study analyzing conversion rates of U.S. e-commerce sites showed that a higher percentage of purchases were finalized after the shopping experience was tailored to the users. Although conversion rates improved across several e-commerce segments, marketplaces showed the biggest difference in pre-and post-personalization. Easier said than done For buyers to get a personalized shopping experience, retailers need to retrieve significant amounts of user data throughout the entire customer journey – from customized newsletter to web visits, from mobile app usage to payment preferences. Extensive tracking of online user data requires adequate IT capacity. Over ** percent of U.S. executives from e-commerce companies could not ensure a personalized shopping experience due to lacking IT bandwidth. The second biggest pain point was the missing cooperation with solution partners enabling the personalization.

More than **** of consumers belonging to Generation Z bought something on social media platforms, according to a survey in 2024. Almost a ***** of overall consumers bought on social media platforms. The consumer experience In a 2023 survey, Facebook and Instagram were the social media platforms offering the best shopping experience. To gain deeper insights into the elements constituting a satisfactory social commerce shopping journey from the user's viewpoint, key factors shaping consumers' heightened engagement with social commerce included, but were not limited to, deals and discounts, seamless purchasing processes, exclusive offers, and increased availability of customer reviews. Social shopping destinations Facebook is the leading social commerce platform globally, except among Gen Z, who favor Instagram and TikTok. However, the types of social media accounts that shoppers followed and purchased from varied by age group. Gen Z and Millennials predominantly bought from brand accounts, with Gen Z also showing a preference for social media influencers. Conversely, Gen X and Boomers preferred purchasing from trusted retailer accounts.

In 2024, more than ** percent of Generation Z survey respondents in the United States declared having made an online purchase from a content creator. Two-thirds of Millennials also made an online purchase from creators, according to the survey.

According to a 2024 survey, millennials made up the largest share of consumers globally who mostly shopped for beauty products online (** percent). Gen Z (** percent) and Gen X (** percent) consumers followed, while around ** percent of Baby Boomers did so.

Doubling the money The online beauty and personal care market worldwide generated a revenue of about **** billion U.S. dollars in 2022, with China, the United States, and Japan being the three biggest markets. The cosmetics market is the fastest growing segment of the beauty market worldwide and is estimated to incur almost double its current revenue by 2027. In 2023, around *** million people around the world purchased beauty products online. This number is expected to increase to over *** billion by 2027.
Trending on TikTok With social media becoming more and more prominent, especially in younger generations, it is not a surprise that more people also engage in social commerce and purchase beauty products from apps. In the United States, TikTok has become the leading social media platform for purchasing various beauty items, followed by Instagram and Facebook. On TikTok, content creators and brands promote sales in two main ways, video sales and live sales. The majority of app-based sales are made through live sales, which refer to livestreams that promote products and offer shopping links. It is easy to see how popular beauty products are on TikTok from the number of views they receive, with Dyson, Cerave, and The Ordinary being the most popular beauty brands.

According to a 2022 global survey, millennials were the generation that made the highest number of direct purchases on online marketplaces. Over the six months leading up to the study, around ** percent of millennials bought from marketplaces. Gen Z online shoppers secured the second position, with ** percent of them opting to order goods directly from this channel.

According to a survey in 2024, reading customer reviews before making a purchase was done by at least half of Millennial respondents in each of the countries analyzed. Using a discount code or coupon at checkout was also a common practice in this generation.

As of May 2020, the single most used e-commerce retail website, across all generations in the United States, was Amazon. Roughly ************** of Generation Z, millennials, as well as Generation X, favored Amazon marketplace over other e-retailers, such as Walmart and eBay. Even among the older generations, i.e., baby boomers and the Silent Generation, Amazon was the top choice.

In 2021, ** percent of baby boomers preferred in-store shopping, while only ** percent chose online shopping as their primary method of buying. Many millennials and Generation Z shoppers also opted for in-store shopping but showed a way greater interest in hybrid buying methods, at a rate of ** and ** percent, respectively. Favorite brands among young shoppers When comparing male and female Generation Z shoppers in terms of brand preferences in the United States, it was apparent that both groups enjoyed many of the same household names. For instance, brands such as Amazon, Walmart, YouTube, and Netflix appeared on both lists, making them some of the generation’s most popular brands. That said, preferences were far from identical: more Gen Z women liked Doritos, Oreo, and KitKat, while a higher number of Gen Z men had a favorable opinion of Gatorade, PlayStation, and Nike. Sustainable considerations Climate change is a hot topic and is on many consumers’ minds in recent years. As such, a considerable share of people in the United States, and around the world, have started taking up more sustainable habits. For example, many have adapted their shopping and consumption behavior: according to a survey conducted in early 2022, more than half of consumers worldwide planned to avoid buying new goods for sustainability reasons, perhaps intending to buy secondhand or repair the goods they already owned instead.

Saving time was the main reason for U.S. Gen X shoppers to buy groceries online in 2023, with 73 percent of shoppers reporting so. Another 37 percent of shoppers reported that they liked shopping online because it helps them avoid impulse purchases that happen in-store.

In 2021, an estimated ** percent of shoppers in the United States had visited both physical outlets and online stores in the past 12 months. In other words, U.S. consumers were shopping equal amounts offline and online that year. Leading the list was the baby boomer generation: in the past year, approximately ** percent of boomers had shopped for products on the web.

Home was the leading category purchased from on online marketplaces among Australia's Gen X shoppers in 2024, with around 44 percent of the generational cohort buying items in this category. The women's fashion segment alongside hobbies and recreational goods were the next most popular categories on online marketplaces among the country's Gen X shoppers.

A survey conducted in September 2023 revealed that Gen Z made up ** percent of online fashion shoppers in select countries worldwide. Additionally, Millennials and Gen X shoppers made up ** percent.

In a survey conducted in the second quarter of 2023, nearly ********** of Millennials in the United States reported shopping for groceries online on a monthly basis, compared to around ** percent of Gen X respondents.

According to the results of a recent survey conducted in the United States, most respondents across all age groups preferred to buy products directly in stores. The highest share of in-store buyers was among baby boomers, with 83 percent. On the other hand, the same generation did not seem as interested as others in buying products through companies' apps or social media.

In 2023, Generation X shoppers gave insight on the main reasons why they return online apparel purchases in the United States. The leading reason for returning a purchase was due to not liking the sizing of the clothes, with more than ** percent of respondents citing this. A quarter of online fashion consumers returned their order due to the items not looking as they thought they would, and only about ** percent bought the same item in different sizes and returned the ones that did not fit.

This statistic shows Generation X consumers' comfort level when purchasing furniture online as of 2018, by product type. As of 2018, ** percent of Generation X respondents stated that they would feel comfortable buying a throw blanket online.

According to a survey conducted in the first quarter of 2025, ** percent of Gen Z respondents shopped online in the United States in the previous 12 months. Additionally, ** percent of Millennials bought products online, and ** percent of Generation X respondents did the same.

In the United Kingdom (UK), millennial shoppers were the group purchasing clothing and shoes the most online. A total ** percent of millennials, aged 27 to 42, reported shopping mostly online for clothes and shoes in the 2nd quarter of 2023. Gen Z shoppers followed, with ** percent mostly shopping online for their apparel.

Data shows that in the United Kingdom, Gen Z shoppers were most interested in using mobile phones for online shopping in the second quarter of 2023. A total ** percent of UK Gen Zers preferred mobile commerce. In comparison, ** percent of Baby Boomers in the country had a preference for computers for online shopping.

According to a survey, there is a correlation between consumer age and the prevalence of cross-border purchases. The data showed that the younger the consumer, the greater the likelihood of cross-border shopping. In 2022, six out of ten Gen Z shoppers (18 to 24 years old) had already made cross-border orders, followed by millennials at ** percent, Gen X at ** percent, and boomers at ** percent.