In-Store Retail Purchases Threatened by Oncoming eCommerce Wave

eCommerce activity is poised to rise significantly in the next 12 months. Thirty percent of consumers expect to purchase more retail products online in the next year, and 32% expect to buy more groceries.

This upcoming eCommerce activity surge creates myriad opportunities for merchants and grocers looking to win over online shoppers. But these will only be available if businesses take the necessary steps to deliver the digital shopping experience shoppers want.

“Tracking the Digital Payments Takeover: Catching the Coming eCommerce Wave” is the inaugural edition of PYMNTS’ report series in collaboration with Amazon Web Services. We surveyed a census-balanced panel of 2,691 consumers from April 12 to April 16 to learn more about how their demand for digital grocery and retail shopping options is growing with time and how that growth is driving a corresponding demand for digital-native payment options to power their connected shopping journeys.

Key findings from our research include the following.

Online grocery purchases will grow substantially in the next year.

Currently, consumers are overwhelmingly more likely to shop for groceries in stores, completing just 12% of grocery purchases online. The appetite for digital grocery purchases is growing, however, with 23% of consumers very or extremely likely to increase their online grocery purchases in the next year.

The share of in-store retail spend could drop as nearly one-third of consumers expect to lean more toward digital channels.

More than one-quarter of non-grocery retail purchases already happen online. PYMNTS’ data found that 30% of consumers are very or extremely likely to increase how much they shop for retail items online in the next year. This increase may spell trouble for retail merchants not ready to adapt.

Consumer use of digital-native payment methods such as Apple Pay and Venmo is growing alongside eCommerce activity. Projections show PayPal’s use will grow the fastest year over year.

PayPal and Apple Pay are currently the two most-used digital-native payment methods in the United States. Consumers used PayPal for 12% of all online non-grocery retail purchases in April, and they used Apple Pay for 3%. Consumer use of these payment methods will only grow in the coming year.

These findings provide only a glimpse into what our latest survey uncovered. Download the report to learn more about what merchants need to know about trends in digital payments and eCommerce.