logo
Updated on Nov 4, 2024
Updates quarterly

Tracking Trends in the Retail Industry

Consumers consistently prefer shopping in stores over online
Morning Consult Logo
Shares of each demographic who said they prefer to shop in stores or online

To help retail and e-commerce brand leaders identify which consumer shopping behaviors are taking hold and which are not, Morning Consult is tracking shifting consumer e-commerce and retail industry trends through a monthly survey of U.S. adults.

Find a more detailed methodology for this tracker below.

Data Downloads

Pro+ subscribers are able to download the datasets that underpin Morning Consult Pro's reports and analysis. Contact us to get access.

Data file
Pro+
A sortable XLSX file of survey results among U.S. adults and key demographics
xlsx
788Kb
About Pro+
A brief outline of what datasets are included in Morning Consult Pro+
pdf
1 Bytes

Reasons Consumers Prefer Online and In-Store Shopping

Share of respondents who said they choose to shop in stores or online for the following reasons:
Morning Consult Logo

Consumer Preference for Online Shopping by Category

Share of adults who said they prefer to make purchases online in the following categories:
Morning Consult Logo

Utilization of Fulfillment Channels by Category

Share of adults who used the following fulfillment options when ordering in each category:
Morning Consult Logo

Return Method Used by Purchase Channel

Share of respondents who returned items in the following ways in the last month:
Morning Consult Logo

Source of This Data

Methodology

The Morning Consult Retail Monthly Trend Tracker relies on data collected through Morning Consult’s proprietary survey research capabilities. The interviews are conducted online, and the data are weighted to approximate a representative sample of U.S. adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race and region. Results from the full survey have a monthly sample size of 2,200 to 4,400 U.S. adults and an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.

On April 1, 2022, Morning Consult updated its general population weighting targets for the United States to be more representative of the most recent population data. Historical data has not changed. 

About Morning Consult

Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company changing how modern leaders make smarter, faster, better decisions. The company pairs its proprietary high-frequency data with applied artificial intelligence to better inform decisions on what people think and how they will act. Learn more at morningconsult.com.

Email [email protected] to speak with a member of the Morning Consult team.