Editor’s note: Connie Hwong is the global content marketing director at Verto Analytics, Berlin. This is an edited version of a piece that originally appeared here under the title, “The e-commerce ecosystem: Who is the online shopper?”
Online shopping is a near-ubiquitous activity. More than 96 percent of all American adults (ages 18 and older) used an e-commerce platform on a monthly basis. But what else can we learn about consumers who shop online, and how can we segment them into different audiences based on their behaviors and demographics?
Categories
Based on Verto Analytics data about consumer behavior, we have divided online shoppers into three distinct categories based on the amount of time they spend per month on shopping online:
Heavy shoppers comprise the top 20 percent of all online shoppers, based on the amount of time they spend per month with online shopping brands.
Medium shoppers are those who fall between the 40th and 80th percentile of all online shoppers, based on the amount of time they spend per month with online shopping brands.
Light shoppers are those who comprise the bottom 40 percent of all online shoppers, based on the amount of time they spend per month with online shopping brands.
Applying these three shopper categories to specific demographic groups also reveals distinct consumer online shopping behaviors based on age and gender.
Millennials are light shoppers
Less than a quarter (24 percent) of Millennials (those ages 18-34) can be classified as heavy shoppers, despite the fact they comprise 30 percent of the total online shopping population. In fact, Millennials are most represented among light shoppers: they comprise 36 percent of that shopper category. Meanwhile, the heavy shopper category is dominated by members of Generation X (ages 35-54) and Boomers (ages 55-74), who comprise 75 percent of all heavy shoppers Generation X shows an especially strong tendency toward online shopping; they comprise 34 percent of the total online shopping population, but 39 percent of all heavy shoppers.
Women are heavy shoppers
Online shopping is particularly popular among women, who make up 52 percent of all online shoppers This is further reflected among heavy shoppers (56 percent are women) and medium shoppers (58 percent are women), whereas men only gain majority (56 percent) among light shoppers.
Identifying the super shopper
Based on these criteria, we were able to identify the demographics and characteristics of the super shopper or a consumer who falls into the top 20th percentile of users based on time spent shopping online. She is a 47-year-old woman with a household income under $50,000 who spends 44 hours per month (nearly two whole days) shopping online, spending the majority of her time on Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Craigslist.
