In August, retail sales were up more than 2% from the same time last year. A big part of that was thanks to online shopping, which was up almost 8% from last year. And retailers think that e-commerce category has even more room for growth.
People still do about 80% of their shopping in physical stores, according to Jonathan Silver, CEO of the research company Affinity Solutions.
“Most people still buy their groceries in a physical store,” he said. “Most people go into drug stores and buy their drugstore items in a physical store.”
But people are getting more comfortable buying items online that they’re used to buying in person, Silver noted. That’s thanks in part to all the online shopping we did during the pandemic.
Plus, retailers’ websites are getting better — think visualization tools. “Seeing the clothing as it would fit on your body, and seeing the room, your bedroom or your living room or dining room with the furniture in it,” said Silver.
Consumers might also rely more on online shopping as a way to keep their costs down, per Cris deRitis, deputy chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.
“Online shopping just allows you to price compare so easily, compared to having to run around to various stores physically,” he said.
As long as prices stay relatively high, DeRitis said people are going to want to comparison shop as much as they can.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.