Most consumers will shop on online marketplaces in 2024

Almost all online shoppers shop on online marketplaces at least once a week, according to a new study by Digital Commerce 360 ​​​​and Bizrate Insights.

A closer look reveals that more than half of consumers shop on online marketplaces either a few times a month or a few times a week.

30.09% of respondents to a survey of 1,017 consumers said they shop on online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay and Etsy several times a month. 20.16% said they shop on one of these marketplaces several times a week. Every respondent said they shop on online marketplaces, and only seven (0.69%) were unsure how often.

Who buys on which marketplace?

More than three-quarters (75.81%) of consumers surveyed said they had already purchased from a seller on the Amazon marketplace. Similarly, 35.2% did not know whether their purchase on the marketplace came from Amazon itself or a seller. In addition, about a third stated that they would rather buy a product on the marketplace from Amazon itself than from a third-party seller (32.84%).

More than four out of ten respondents said they had already submitted a product review on Amazon (43.56%). In comparison, just over a quarter (25.27%) said they had already submitted a product review on a marketplace other than Amazon.

As for other marketplaces, 38.05% have purchased from a third-party seller at Walmart. 37.56% have purchased from other U.S. marketplaces besides Amazon, eBay, and Walmart. And 27.53% said they have purchased from specialty marketplaces. These include marketplaces like Etsy, Newegg, and Reverb that focus on unique categories or customer segments.

Outside of US marketplaces, 28.12% purchased on a Chinese marketplace (such as Tmall, Tabao, JD, AliExpress or Temu).

Overall, only 13.37% reported that products they had purchased on marketplaces in the past were out of stock, unavailable, or had long delivery times. 6.78% reported receiving a counterfeit or misrepresented product on a marketplace.

Not even one in five consumers surveyed ordered from a marketplace with same-day delivery (16.22%).

Product range

More than half of consumers said they saw more products on marketplaces in 2024 than in the previous year. Of these, 27 percent said they saw significantly more products, while about a quarter (25.76 percent) said they saw slightly more products in 2024 than in 2023.

Less than 10% said they saw a smaller product assortment on marketplaces this year than in 2023. Meanwhile, 41% of consumers surveyed said the product assortment in 2024 will look about the same as in 2023.

Challenges of shopping on marketplaces in 2024

When it comes to challenges when shopping on online marketplaces, the most frequently cited answer (over a third (35.5%)) was that prices would be higher in 2024 than in the previous year. In this context, more than a quarter (27.43%) also stated that shipping costs would be higher. In addition, 23% stated that delivery times would be longer.

About a fifth (20.55%) said it was difficult to distinguish between third-party sellers on the marketplace and items sold by the marketplace owner itself (such as Amazon Basics products on Amazon.com).

16.42% said they had difficulty determining if the products were made in the United States, and another 14.75% said they had difficulty determining if the products were counterfeit.

Behavior and perceptions

Consumers’ attitudes towards shopping on a marketplace are also revealing.

More than a fifth of shoppers surveyed (21.53%) said they noticed that prices on marketplaces were often lower than on other retailers’ websites.

16.52% of consumers said that fees, including shipping, are often lower than on other merchant sites. Meanwhile, 13.96% said that prices, including shipping, are consistent with those on the merchant sites they usually shop on.

In addition, almost one in five (19.37%) said they find the wider range of products available on marketplaces attractive. A similar number (16.13%) said online marketplaces have more inventory than some of the individual retailer websites they shop on.

18.19% said they feel more comfortable with the online marketplace model, given their purchases over the past year. This could be because shoppers compare prices across marketplaces rather than just shopping at a single retailer. On the other hand, an equal number said they don’t like retailers like Target and Walmart adding online marketplaces. These consumers said the marketplaces become confusing and policies are different for each product.

Buying behavior on online marketplaces in 2024

More than half of the consumers surveyed (58.11%) said they will shop on online marketplaces to a similar extent in 2024 as in 2023. Just over a fifth said they would buy more (21.14%). And just over a tenth said they would buy less (11.6%). Just under 5% each said they only shop on marketplaces (4.42%) or do not currently do so and do not intend to do so (4.72%).

This is one area where a consumer’s age plays a role in the decision-making process.

Buying behavior varies by age

More than three-quarters of consumers aged 65 and over (75.68%) said they will buy as much from online marketplaces this year as they did in 2023. This number drops more sharply with each younger age group. 67.5% of shoppers aged 55-64 said they would shop as much in 2024 as they did last year. This drops to 61.63% for 40-54 year-olds and just over half (51.21%) for 30-39 year-olds. Not even half of 18-29 year-olds (43%) said they would buy as much from online marketplaces in 2024 as they did the year before.

That’s because the trend is reversing when it comes to shopping more on online marketplaces in 2024 than the year before. Almost a third of consumers ages 18-29 (30.5%) said they will shop more on online marketplaces this year. Among those ages 30-39, that drops to just over a quarter (25.81%) and just over a fifth among those ages 40-54 (20.16%). 14.5% of consumers in the 55-64 age group said they will shop more on online marketplaces this year. And among those over 65, that drops to just 8.11%.

When it comes to shopping less on online marketplaces in 2024, the age group that most frequently gave this answer was those aged 40-54 (13.57%). And there was no such lopsided trend between age groups as this year, with shopping more or the same. This was also true for consumers who do not currently shop on marketplaces and do not intend to.

However, there was a clear trend among the small group of consumers (4% of the total sample surveyed) who said they only buy from marketplaces. Within that 4%, 18-29 year olds are the most likely to buy exclusively from marketplaces (9%). This drops to 7.66% for 30-39 year olds and 2.33% for 40-54 year olds. Only 1% of 55-64 year olds said they only buy from marketplaces. None of the surveyed consumers in the 65 and over age group said they only buy from online marketplaces.

Discover new products on marketplaces

Almost half of consumers surveyed said they would buy from brands or sellers they have never heard of on marketplaces (49.26%). Just under a fifth (19.86%) said they would not. The rest (30.88%) were unsure what they would do.

Almost half of consumers said they have ever made a purchase on a seller’s website after finding their products on a marketplace (49.36%). Over a third (36.58%) have not done so, and 14.06% were unsure if they have.

Ratings, reviews and purchase decisions

Most consumers said that customer ratings and reviews influence their purchase decisions when shopping on online marketplaces. 59.19% said they always look at ratings and reviews and usually base their decisions on them. More than a third, 36.28%, said they sometimes look at ratings and reviews before making a decision. Only 4.52% said they never look at ratings and reviews before shopping on online marketplaces.

By age, 69 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds said they always look at ratings and reviews on online marketplaces before making a purchase. Survey data shows that this likelihood decreases as shoppers get older. 65.73 percent of 30- to 39-year-olds and 63.95 percent of 40- to 54-year-olds said they always look at reviews first. Among those over 55, less than half do so – 47.5 percent of 55- to 64-year-olds and 36.94 percent of those over 65.

Marketplace versus direct sales: What convinces buyers

In line with the results of previous Digital Commerce 360 ​​surveys and general opinion, price is crucial for shoppers.

Most consumers (52.61%) said they prefer to shop on an online marketplace rather than directly on a retailer’s website because of better prices, followed closely by free or discounted shipping (50.34%). No other factor prompted more than half of consumers to choose one, but more than a third cited speed of delivery (38.74%).

Meanwhile, more than a quarter said:

• Products in stock (31.27%)
• More convenient shopping (30.78%)
• Easily find specific items (27.63%)

Concerns about shopping on online marketplaces

The three biggest concerns consumers had when shopping on online marketplaces were:

• High shipping costs (39.23% of respondents)
• Long delivery times (37.36%)
• Fraudulent practices, including counterfeit products (33.43%)

Almost one in three consumers (29.4%) complained about a lack of return options. More than a quarter complained about the validity of reviews (27.52%) and a lack of customer service in dealing with order problems (27.24%).

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