4 in 10 Adults Say They’re Likely to Buy a Product Recommended to Them Online

November 30, 2022

Almost two-thirds (65%) of US adults agree that their expectations when shopping online are higher now than they were 3 years ago, according to a survey from Pack. That’s particularly the case for 18-34-year-olds (69%) and 35-44-year-olds (77%), per the results.

These expectations could be concerning to e-commerce retailers, considering that younger adults are more likely than older adults to say that they find shopping online to be more difficult than in-store.

In fact, difficulties with the e-commerce experience can lead shoppers to abandon sites in favor of others. Some 62% of adults surveyed said they’d be likely to look for an item they want to buy somewhere else (i.e. another retailer) if they can’t easily find the item they’re looking for after one search. Similarly, a majority would look elsewhere if the website took too long to load (55%) or if they’re required to download or update an app in order to buy the product (52%). Slow load times have previously been found to be a key reason why consumers abandon a digital transaction or task.

Generally speaking, the oldest bracket (65+) appears to be the most patient in each of the above circumstances, being less likely to look for an item elsewhere based on a site issue.

While they’re unlikely to abandon a transaction for these reasons, older adults are also unlikely to be drawn into a purchase based on a recommendation. Although 41% of respondents overall said they would be likely to purchase a product “recommended” to them online (e.g. surfaced in their feed or showcased based on their behavior), that figure dropped to just 16% among those ages 65 and older.

Not surprisingly, product recommendations hold the most sway with younger adults: 56% of respondents in both the 18-34 and 35-44 age brackets said they would be likely to purchase a product recommended to them online. Separate research has found that in order to receive personalized product or service recommendations, most shoppers would be comfortable sharing with retailers their satisfaction with past orders, products or services as well as their ideal price range and product categories of interest.

When segregating by other demographic variables, the survey results show that adults with the highest levels of household income ($100K+) are the most likely to look for an item elsewhere should they encounter some friction, while those with children in the household are significantly more likely than those without kids to abandon their search and conduct it somewhere else.

Meanwhile, the results offer up another interesting tidbit. Though marketers try to guard against cart abandonment, many times a product isn’t in a cart because there is buying intent. In fact, 64% of adults surveyed say they’re likely to put an item in their shopping cart before they’ve decided they want to purchase it as a means of “saving it” while shopping. Past research also finds that one of the top reasons for cart abandonment is that shoppers were simply conducting research.

Other Survey Highlights:

  • Only about 1 in 3 adults (32%) said that they are loyal to certain brands when shopping online. This sentiment was more prevalent among households with higher than lower incomes.
  • Almost 6 in 10 (58% of) respondents agree that they’re more likely to buy from a modern-looking website/app than an outdated-looking website/app, with this result higher among younger than older respondents.
  • Almost half (47%) agree that it’s more important for them to be able to buy something quickly when they’re shopping online than to have a large selection of items to choose from. A majority of respondents ages 18-34 and 35-44 agreed with this.
  • Some 43% of respondents agreed that purchasing online straight from social media (e.g. from an Instagram or Facebook post) is easy. Agreement was highest among the 35-44 (56%) and 18-34 (54%) age brackets.

About the Data: The results are based on an October survey of 2,068 U.S. adults (18+).

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