15 Online Shopping Trends & Forecasts Of 2023

There are 2.64 billion online buyers in the world as of 2023. It makes up more than 33% of the world’s total population.

If you are a marketer or about to start a new online business and want to know about the latest trends in online shopping, then you are at the right place. 

Here I have brought some of the latest online shopping trends for you. 

Without wasting time, let’s take a look at them.

What Will Be Trending In Online Shopping In 2023?

If you want to get a quick overview of these trends, then here they are:

Top 15 Online Shopping Trends In 2023

1. Social Media Will Be King
2. Groceries Will Gain Momentum
3. E-commerce Accelerates Across All Product Categories
4. Retailers To Adapt E-Commerce
5. Ethical Concerns
6. Niche DTC (Direct To Customer) Products Take Off
7. Wee-Beign Will Be The Focal Point Of Customers
8. The Use Of Chatbots Will Increase
9. Voice Searches Will Gain Importance
10. Influencers’ Popularity Will Increase
11. Shoppers Will Expect Convenient Delivery Options
12. Payment Methods Will Increase
13. Mobile Shopping Will Increase
14. Rise Of AI In Online Shopping
15. Shoppable Videos

Now that you have a clear overview of these trends, let’s get the details about each trend. 

Top 15+ Online Shopping Trends (2023)

Here are the details of the top 15 online shopping trends, which will make you understand better about these trends. 

1. Social Media Will Be King

Nowadays, online shopping has become a social media activity. 

Whether it means customers find the best deals on social media platforms or share their purchasing habits with their family and friends. 

There are more than 4.8 billion social media users worldwide. You can reach a vast audience through social media and increase your business. 

As social media users are increasing daily, social media platforms also serve users a great experience through their new features. 

According to the latest study by Forrester, 38% of buyers purchase through social media platforms monthly in the United States. 

Similarly, according to Statista, almost 7 out of 10 shoppers in the United States purchase after seeing social media platform ads. 

People will buy more and more through social media in the future. 

Social media platforms are also promoting online shopping. TikTok has introduced TikTok shopping, which allows marketers to sell products quickly. 

Here is an example of TikTok shopping, as shown in the above screenshot. 

TikTok and Shopify create an API for TikTok Shopping that automatically allows businesses to upload products’ catalog to TikTok. 

If you are an online marketer or planning an online business, social media is the biggest platform for online shopping.

 You must promote your business through social media via video marketing, influencer marketing, etc. 

In 2023, social media will play a significant role in online shopping. 

2. Groceries Will Gain Momentum.

Grocery shopping gained momentum in 2020 and 2021 like never before. In that period, grocery sales reached $95.82 billion, 11% of grocery shopping in the United States. 

Before the COVID-19 Pandemic, online grocery shopping share was the lowest in online expenditure.

After the Pandemic, people are still buying groceries online. 

Not only in the United States, but people also started buying groceries online for the first time all over the world. 

This trend continues in 2023, and People will buy more grocery products online. 

3. E-Commerce Accelerates Across All Product Categories

Not just only has online grocery growth accelerated, but all e-commerce growth in many other categories has accelerated in the United States due to the Pandemic. 

Online shopping increased everywhere, with spending more on everything from beauty products to footwear to household items. 

According to Exploding Topics, household items are on the 2nd place after groceries, which has increased by 22% globally. 

Clothing and footwear are just behind household items. 

Additionally, shoppers say they will continue online shopping even more.

 The shares of fractions of online shopping gained by e-commerce will be permanent in 2023. 

Here is an opportunity for new markets to bloom in this industry. 

For instance, the Online plant delivery company Bloomscape’s CEO said the company had increased its sales quadrupled, and its workforce doubled after 2020. 

After the Pandemic, people started shopping online like never before. All product categories reported growth in 2022, which will continue in 2023. 

4. Retailers To Adapt To E-commerce.

As the world goes into lockdown, many retailers force themselves to devise new paths to serve their customers. 

E-commerce business is one of them. Many retailers started selling their products online. 

This trend was not just limited to the Pandemic. 

According to Ipsos, 22% of consumers say they will continue their online shopping even after zero risks to health, and 39% say they will use both ways of shopping. 

Almost 8 out of 10 prominent brands in the United States will start offering curbside pickup in 2023. 

All retail businesses have gained success in online channels, and this will continue in 2023. 

5. Ethical Concerns

According to the Future Consumer Index, consumers in the United States say they are very concerned about social and environmental issues. 

Many shoppers said they recycled and reused products and packaging. Many have started using reusable shopping bags. 

According to Exploding Topics, searches on Google for sustainable packaging increased by over 158% from 2019 to 2023. 

Consumers in the United States say they always pay attention to their purchase’s environmental impact. 

People do not like buying something from a business that does not behave environmentally or socially appropriately. 

According to Exploding Topics, the top businesses in beauty apparel and beauty products have started investing in sustainable practices, such as H&M, REI, Patagonia, and Ikea. 

While starting a new online business, one should pay attention to these ethical concerns of consumers in 2023. 

6. Niche DTC (Direct To Consumer) Products Take Off

CPG (Consumer Packaging Goods) and DTC (Direct To Consumer) products will increase their sales by 2.5X. 

Platforms of logistics, e-commerce, and manufacturing, respectively, ShipBob, Shopify, and Alibaba, have emerged simultaneously. That makes creating, developing, shipping, and selling physical products quick. 

According to the report of Shopify, their transactions increased by over 109% compared to 2020. It is impacting physical product space. 

McKinsey’s report says 75% of consumers changed their purchasing behavior in the last few years due to DTC.  

According to Exploding Topics, Wheat straw plates, gaming glasses, Reusable Q-tips, Custom keycaps, posture correctors, Makeup fridges, Portable blenders, etc., products of DTC are fast growing. 

Here are some of the examples of DTC brands that are driving this trend:

1. DRMLGY
2. Secretlab
3. Pretty Litter
4. Ekster
5. Femtis
6. CoBionic

In 2023, this trend will continue to grow. 

7. Well-Being Will Be The Focal Point Of Customers

One of the good things that happened after the Pandemic is awareness of well-being. 

This led to increasing customers’ interest in healthy eating, DIY cooking, hygiene, personal care, and fitness. 

Online sales of sanitizers increased by over 357% in 2020. 

This hygiene consciousness of people will likely stay here. 

According to a Nielsen study, consumers will prioritize their health and hygiene in the coming years. 

Prioritizing well-being impacts the sales of cleaning agents used in kitchens, bathrooms, etc. the sale of these products has increased by over 32% and 29.1%, respectively. 

Even after the Pandemic has become less, people still want to avoid contact with stores and buy products online. 

8. The Use Of Chatbots Will An Increase

The retail industry’s experts say consumers will talk less with human executives in the next few years. 

People are more likely to use conversational commerce. 

Smart speakers and Chatbots are the most famous examples of conversational commerce. 

According to National Retail Federation, Buyers’ interaction with Chatbots will increase.

Many consumers would prefer chatbots over human calls. 

According to Grand View Research, The Chatbot industry is expected to reach $27.2 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 23.3%. 

One of the most top reasons to use Chatbots is their 24/7 availability. Chatbots can interact with consumers anytime. 

Human executives may get confused with customers’ issues or get rude, but Chatbots solve customers’ problems without getting confused and rude. 

Utilizing Chatbots in your business in 2023 can add benefits to your account. 

9. Voice Searches Will Gain Importance

As we have discussed earlier, smart speakers are part of conversational commerce.

Many voice assistants exist today, such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, Google Assistant, etc.  

In conversational commerce, we can shop for products through smart speakers and smartphones by giving them commands. 

Over 142 million voice assistant users are in the United States as of 2023. Of these users, 50% use voice assistance daily. 

Voice assistance provides an easy way for their users to shop. 

People use voice assistants for many purposes, such as browsing for new products, creating shopping lists, purchasing products, comparing prices, making impulsive purchases, etc. 

According to Exploding Topics, Shopping through voice assistants is more prevalent among men than women.

Globally, Voice assistants contribute billions of dollars in revenue in the e-commerce industry. 

While starting a new online business, markets must make their business voice-enabled in 2023. 

10. Influencers’ Popularity Will Increase

Nowadays, businesses use influencer marketing as one of the most popular ways of promoting their brand. 

According to Rakuten Marketing, Nearby 90% of customers purchase after seeing an influencer promoting that product. 

When it comes to Gen Z, 97% of them say social media is their primary source of shopping. They get inspired by influencers on social media. 

Gen Zs are using Social Media platforms as their primary search engine. They go straight to social media to find any kind of information. 

People who watch influencers in videos feel more connected to that brand. People trust that brand and make purchases from them. 

In the United States, many brands are expected to spend more than $4.6 billion on influencer marketing in 2023. 

There are more than 0.5 billion influencers on Instagram. Collaborating with influencers in 2023 will give you loyal customers. 

11. Shoppers Will Expect Convenient Delivery Options

Reliable delivery is one of the most important factors while shopping online. 

According to customers, two-day delivery, BOPIS, and curbside pickup are convenient delivery options. 

Half of the customers said efficient delivery is very often or always important to them. 

According to McKinsey, 90% of consumers say two or three-day delivery time is the baseline of their expectations. 

Same-day delivery, like grocery products, already gets massive success in the online shipping industry. 

As a result, many delivery platforms plan to give same-day delivery to their customers within the next three years. 

Here is one great example of a last-mile (Final step of the product’s journey) delivery startup, “Veho.”

It was started by Harward Student, who was fed up with late delivery services. 

Since the COVIE-19 Pandemic, the growth of Veho’s revenue is 40X times more. 

Providing convenient delivery options to your users will add extra revenue to your business in 2023. 

12. Payment Methods Will Increase 

Checks and Cash payment methods are now outdated. 

Consumers of 2023 have many payment options. 

On average, one shopper uses 2.5 payment methods in a year. More than 18% of shoppers use five payment methods. 

Credit and Debit cards still hold a significant share of payment methods, but digital wallet platforms are becoming famous among young generations. 

Google Pay, PayPal, and Apple Pay remain popular among digital wallets. 

30% of shoppers always preferred to pay through their smartphones in 2022.

Digital wallet payments will surpass debit payments soon, as shown in the below screenshot. 

Another research shows that customers will use digital wallet payments double by 2025. 

Adding many payment options to your business will boost your business in 2023. 

13. Mobile Shopping Will Increase

There are over 7.3 billion mobile users in the world. They make up more than 92% of total world’s population. 

Mobile internet traffic also recently surpassed desktop traffic. 65.7% of all retail e-commerce sales came from mobile in 2022. 

These numbers can not be ignored. Improving the consumer experience of mobile users can be a fair opportunity for businesses. 

Millennials and the Gen Z population feel more comfortable buying products through mobile devices. 

The websites of your business should be fast and responsive to mobiles so the engagement rate of consumers will increase.

Businesses need to make their businesses mobile-friendly in 2023 to achieve more success. 

14. Rise Of AI In Online Shopping

Artificial Intelligence is still in its developing phase. But, many AI tools can help marketers. 

For instance, two tools of OpenAI can help marketers in 2023. They are as follows:

1. ChatGPT:

Marketers can use ChatGPT in their advertising writing. ChatGPT can generate human-like text. 

2. DELL.E:

DELL.E tools can generate unique images from a text prompt. Marketers can use this tool to create unique images for their advertisements. 

Other AI tools can also help marketers with copywriting, such as the Jasper AI tool. 

Using AI and Machine learning for your business in 2023 can help grow your business. 

15. Shoppable Videos

Video shopping has increased in the last few years. TikTok is dominating player in video shopping. 

Social media is always promoting shopping on their platforms. They are introducing new features to boost shopping from their platform. 

On social media, we can create shoppable videos, and in that video product’s link will be embedded. 

When the user watches that video, they just need to tap on that video. They will reach directly to the brands’ websites without leaving social media. 

You can also make a detailed video of your products and solve customers’ problems through it. 

Using Shoppable videos in your business strategy can give you success in 2023.

Conclusion: Online Shopping Trends (2023)

I want to sum up this blog by saying these online shopping trends will matter significantly in 2023. 

These trends will help you to build your marketing strategy in a better way.

For more updated trends, keep revising this article. We will be updating this from time to time. 

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