The web is chock full of awesome research, survey results, and insights about retail. You could spend hours digging around looking for quotable bits of information.
To make it easy for you, I compiled 100 different statistics about retail, eCommerce, customer experience, and a whole bunch of related topics. Use this post as a singular place to find lots of data points to use for whatever purpose you need.
Enjoy!
eCommerce Statistics
Current sales value of eCommerce retailers is $294 billion. [1]
Sales value of eCommerce retailers expected to reach $414 by 2018. [1]
In 2015, 200 million digital shoppers will spend an average of $1,700/person. [1]
Two thirds of eCommerce customers are “webrooming”. [1]
93% of retailers that seek a POS want inventory management capabilities built in. [8]
In 2014, online shoppers in the U.S. spent $1,611 versus $1,151 in Canada and $1,162 in Europe (translated from British Pounds on June 25). [11]
60% of adult Americans are happy to know they won’t have to shop in a crowded mall or store. [11]
71% of shoppers believe they will get a better deal online than in stores. [13]
Generation X spends $561 on average online, 15% more online than Generation Y who spends $489. [13]
Only 28% of U.S. small businesses are selling their products online. [13]
U.S. average conversion rate is 3.06% in Q4 2013. [13]
China is expected to generate $562.7 billion in eCommerce revenue. [14]
Despite having ultra-low incomes, Generation Z spends the highest percentage (9%) of their income online. [16]
40% of men and 33% of women aged 18-34 say they would ideally “buy everything online.” [16]
Cart Abandonment Statistics
$4 trillion in merchandise was abandoned in online shopping carts in 2014. [1]
65% of retailers have a shopping cart abandonment rate that is higher than 50% [3]
66% of online consumers abandon their cart because of problems with the payment process. [8]
23% of shoppers will abandon their shopping cart if they are forced to register an account. [12]
54% of shoppers will purchase products left in shopping carts, if those products are offered at a lower price. [12]
28% of shoppers will abandon their shopping cart if presented with unexpected shipping costs. [12]
Statistics About Online Marketplaces
Four times as many sellers reach 1 million sales on Amazon versus eBay. [20]
63% of sellers only sell on marketplaces. [20]
29% of sellers aren’t satisfied with their channel management software. [20]
72% of sellers don’t use a marketplace management tool. [20]
Customer Experience Statistics
By 2016, 89% of companies plan to compete on the basis of customer experience. [1]
63% of consumers feel a coupon is the most valuable form of mobile marketing. [7]
89% of consumers began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience. [15]
U.S. brands are losing approximately $41 billion each year due to poor customer service. [17]
65% of consumers have cut ties with a brand over a single poor customer service experience. [17]
63% of online consumers said they were more likely to return to a website that offers live chat. [17]
40% of global consumers said they prefer self-service over human contact for their future interactions with companies. [17]
64% of people think that customer experience is more important than price in their choice of a brand. [18]
Customer Loyalty Statistics
The probability of selling to a new customer is between 5 and 20%. The probability of selling to an existing customer is between 60 and 70%. [18]
It costs 6 times more to attract a new customer than to retain an existing one. [18]
Loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase. [19]
62% of consumers feel that the brands that they’re most loyal to have not done enough to reward them. [19]
If you resolve a complaint in your customer’s favor, he or she will do business with you again 70% of the time. [19]
75% of shoppers belong to up to 10 loyalty programs. [19]
62% of Millennials feel that online content drives brand loyalty. [19]
Brick & Mortar Retail Data
Current sales value of U.S. brick & mortar retailers is $3.9 trillion. [1]
94% of total retail sales are still generated in brick & mortar stores. [1]
Half of brick & mortar retailers are “showrooming”. [1]
72% of young shoppers research online before purchasing in a store. [1]
Two thirds of in-store shoppers will check prices on their phone before making a purchase. [1]
In the U.S., 3.8 million retail establishments support 42 million jobs. [2]
98.6% of retail businesses employ fewer than 50 people. [2]
Less than 25% of major retailers track store traffic. [8]
Statistics About Omnichannel
Three out of four customers are more likely to visit your store if your online info is useful. [1]
Digital interactions influence 36 cents of every dollar spent in a brick & mortar store. [1]
22% spend more at the store if digitally influenced. [1]
55% of online shoppers would prefer to buy from a merchant with a physical store presence over an online-only retailer. [1]
Two thirds of customers have made a purchase in the last 6 months that involved multiple channels. [1]
84% believe that retailers should be doing more to integrate their online and offline channels. [1]
Only 8% of companies said they currently provide a ‘very integrated’ customer experience. [17]
Mobile Commerce Statistics
57% will not recommend a retailer with a poorly designed mobile site. [3]
66% of time spent with online retailers is on mobile. [6]
174 million U.S. consumers (72%) now own smartphones and 93 million (38%) now own tablets. [6]
53% of consumers are willing to share their current location to receive more relevant advertising. [7]
57% of consumers are more likely to engage with location-based advertising. [7]
70% of online transactions occur on a mobile device. [8]
43% of consumers will visit a competitor’s site next after a negative mobile shopping experience. [13]
More than 80% of U.S. shoppers want the ability to check for nearby product availability. [14]
94% of smartphone users look for local information on their device. 90% take action after the search. [18]
Social Commerce Statistics
25% of U.S. consumers will consult social media before buying gift. [4]
40% of 18- to 34-year-olds are likely to use social networks for gift ideas. [4]
62% of consumers share local deals with friends. [7]
78% of small businesses attract new customers and engage current ones using social media. [8]
41% of independent retailers rate social media as a “very effective” marketing tactic. [8]
71% of consumers who experience positive social media care are likely to recommend that brand to others. [17]
85% of orders from social media sites come from Facebook. [22]
Orders for referrals from Instagram average $10 more than Facebook ($65 versus $55, respectively). [22]
Social commerce is predicted to be 5% of online retail revenue in 2015. [22]
33% of consumers have reacted to a promotion on a brand’s social media page. [22]
Statistics About Reviews & Recommendations
Above “the fold” product recommendations are 1.7 times more effective than those below. [11]
Shoppers spend 50% more after talking with a brand ambassador. [8]
55% of shoppers say that online reviews influence their buying decision. [12]
36% of consumers spend 30+ minutes comparison shopping before making a decision on purchasing a commodity product; 65% spend 16+ minutes doing so. [13]
73% of consumers prefer to do business with brands that personalize shopping experiences. [15]
Statistics About Digital Marketing & SEO
54% would consider ending their relationship with a retailer if they are not given tailor-made, relevant content and offers. [3]
42% of independent retailers rate email marketing as a “very effective” marketing tactic. [8]
Small retailers’ average marketing budget is 4-5% of gross revenue. [8]
Conversion rate is 5.5 times higher for customers who clicked on a personalized product recommendation. [11]
44% of online shoppers begin by using a search engine. [13]
13% of consumers said that a blog post had inspired a purchase. [13]
91% of eCommerce retailers saw a lift in their SEO rank thanks to social referrals. [15]
Statistics About Shipping, Fulfillment & Returns
64% of retail shoppers think delivery speed is important when purchasing online. [9]
44% of shoppers are more likely to purchase online if they can pick up in the store. [11]
62% of shoppers are more likely to purchase online if they can return the item in the store. [11]
83% of shoppers would shop online more, knowing they could have free shipping. [11]
27% would purchase an item that costs more than $1,000 if offered free returns. Only 10% would, otherwise. [11]
47% of all online orders include free shipping. [13]
Same-day delivery revenue is expected to increase to more than $620 million in 2015. [14]
Holiday Shopping Statistics
Almost 20% of U.S. retail sales come during the Christmas shopping season. [5]
The average U.S. shopper expects to spend $718 on holiday gifts. [10]
Miscellaneous Retail Statistics
Approx. 2/3 of the U.S. GDP comes from retail consumption. [5]
27% of customers make an impulse purchase at the register. [8]
Next to the register merchandise is only 1% of total retail space, but can account for 7% of revenue [8]
Consumers spend 12-18% more when using a credit card versus cash. [8]
One in four mobile shoppers in the U.S. is over the age of 55. [16]
87% of global consumers factor in Corporate Social Responsibility into their purchase decisions. [21]
Sources & Citation Info
To be completely clear, none of the statistics in this blog post are based on nChannel research. This post is simply a curated collection of statistics from around the web. We compiled this list to show a) how much research attention gets put on this topic and b) to give you a convenient place to find data, when you need it.
(Maybe you can use this when you need ammo for convincing your boss you need a multichannel management platform.)
We welcome and encourage you to link to this post, but for any formal or academic purposes, we ask that you cite the original source of the data.
The links below are where we found the statistics. We encourage you to follow through to these sites for more many more statistics and valuable context for many of the ones we’ve shared.
Retail’s Main Event: Brick & Mortar vs. Online, RetailNext
Retail’s Impact, National Retail Federation
13 Alarming Stats About Retail in Digital, Digiday
15 Holiday Retail Stats That Every Marketer Needs to See, AdWeek
2014 US Retail Industry Overview, About.com
Hold the Phone: 66% of Time Spent With e-Retail is on Mobile, Internet Retailer
How Proximity Marketing Is Driving Retail Sales, Forbes
15 Retailer Resources, Stats and Tactics, SnapRetail
Speed of Delivery Is Important for Retail Shoppers, Accenture
Trends in Retail Show US Consumers Plan To Spend More on Holiday Shopping, Accenture
12 Illuminating eCommerce Stats from January-March 2015, eConsultancy
5 Ecommerce Stats That Will Make You Change Your Entire Marketing Approach, Kiss Metrics
40 Amazing Online Shopping And Ecommerce Statistics, Selz
Five 2015 Ecommerce Stats & Trends You Should Know About, PixelMEDIA
5 Stats Every Ecommerce Business Should Know, Gigya
7 Statistics About E-Commerce Shoppers That Reveal Why Many Consumer Stereotypes Don’t Apply Online, Business Insider
13 Startling Customer Service Statistics, Parature
10 Useful Customer Experience Statistics For Your 2015 Strategy, Neosperience
38 Powerful Customer Experience Stats for 2015, Christine James of HissingKitty
10 Statistics from the Online Marketplace Seller Survey, Web Retailer
12 Retail Trends and Predictions for 2015, Vend HQ
U.S. Social Commerce – Statistics & Trend, AdWeek