Stay ahead of the curve with Mintel’s US Millennials: Online Shopping Behaviours Market Report 2023. Our full report is packed with millennial consumer insights, the latest trends and consumer behaviours affecting how the generation approaches online shopping.
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analysed in the full report and summarised the core topics.
Key Issues Covered in this Report
- How economic factors are impacting Millennials’ shopping behaviours.
- Key consumer segments within the generation.
- Product category purchases and retailers shopped.
- The role of social media in product discovery.
- Important factors when shopping online.
- Attitudes toward shopping online.
Who are Millennials?
Mintel defines Millennials as the generation born between 1980 and 1996. In 2023, members of the Millennial generation are between the ages of 27 and 43.
US Millennials’ Online Shopping Behaviours: Fast Facts
- Millennial shoppers are the heaviest online shoppers of all generations, with over half of US Millennials shopping online once or more per week.
- Strong ethics are important to Millennial shoppers, with two thirds agreeing that they wouldn’t buy from a brand or retailer that behaved unethically.
- Nearly two-thirds of Millennial shoppers bought clothing and footwear online in the past year, making it the most popular category.
US Millennials’ Online Shopping Behaviours: How can you brand respond?
Solutions like AI and innovations that integrate the online and physical channels have the opportunity to make the shopping experience more seamless, enjoyable and convenient for US Millennials. The majority of Millennials are heavy online shoppers, but part of the journey to purchase can take place offline, with almost two-thirds of US Millennials preferring to view an item in-person before purchasing online. Therefore, while it is advisable for brands to take a digital-centric marketing approach, they mustn’t forget about the physical channel, which is just as important as the digital one.
Purchase our full report to discover more about the online shopping behaviours of US Millennials, and what your brand can do to respond to the needs of this important consumer group. Readers of this report may also be interested in Mintel’s US Marketing to Millennials Market Report 2023.
Expert Analysis from a Retail Specialist
In this report our analyst Marisa Ortega delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight Millennial consumer trends and relevant marketing and innovation opportunities in the ecommerce industry.
Millennials are an important target audience in ecommerce and marketers will want to understand their preferences to meet their needs online.
Marisa Ortega
Retail & eCommerce Analyst
Collapse All
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- Key issues covered in this report
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Executive Summary
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Millennials by the numbers
- Graph 1: Millennials, by demographic characteristic, 2023
- Graph 2: population by generation, 2018-28
- Graph 3: population by race and generation, 2023
- Graph 4: marital status, by age, 2021
- Graph 5: households, by presence of children and age of householder, 2021
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Consumer Insights
- Millennials: fast facts
- Online shopping frequency
- Graph 6: online shopping frequency in the past 12 months, by generation, 2023
- Graph 7: online shopping frequency, by key demographics, 2023
- Items shopped online
- Graph 8: items shopped online in the past 12 months, 2023
- Graph 9: items shopped online in the past 12 months, by parental status, 2023
- Graph 10: items shopped online in the past 12 months, by race and Hispanic origin, 2023
- Retailers shopped
- Graph 11: retailers shopped, in-store or online, in the past 12 months, NET – any shopping, 2023
- Graph 12: retailers shopped, in-store or online, in the past 12 months, 2023
- Graph 13: retailers shopped online in the past 12 months, by financial situation, 2023
- Graph 14: retailers shopped online in the past 12 months, by race and Hispanic origin, 2023
- Product discovery
- Graph 15: sources to learn about products, 2023
- Graph 16: sources to learn about products, by gender, 2023
- Graph 17: sources to learn about products, by race and Hispanic origin, 2023
- Online shopping starting point
- Graph 18: beginning of the shopping process, by key demographics, 2023
- Online shopping behaviors
- Graph 19: online shopping behaviors, 2023
- Graph 20: online shopping behaviors, by parental status, 2023
- Graph 21: online shopping behaviors, by race and Hispanic origin, 2023
- Important factors when shopping online
- Graph 22: important factors when shopping online, NET – any rank, 2023
- Graph 23: important factors when shopping online, by race and Hispanic origin, NET – any rank, 2023
- Graph 24: important factors when shopping online, by parental status, NET – any rank, 2023
- Attitudes toward shopping online
- Graph 25: attitudes toward shopping online, select responses, NET – agree, 2023
- Graph 26: attitudes toward shopping online, by gender, select responses, NET – agree, 2023
- Graph 27: attitudes toward shopping online, select responses, NET – agree, 2023
- Graph 28: attitudes toward shopping online, by race and Hispanic origin, NET – agree, 2023
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Competitive Strategies
- Launch activity and innovation
- Marketing and advertising
- Opportunities
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The Market
- Market context
- Market drivers
- Graph 29: consumer price index change from previous period, 2020-23
- Graph 30: GDP change from previous period, 2007-23
- Graph 31: unemployment, 2020-23
- Graph 32: disposable personal income chained (2012) dollars, 2022-23
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Appendix
- Graph 33: median household income, by age of householder, 2020
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What goes into a Mintel Market Intelligence Report?
Curious about how a Market Intelligence report comes together? We like to think of it as building a detailed puzzle. We start with individual pieces: data from consumers, market statistics, industry trends, and online conversations. Then our expert analysts add world-class human insight and industry knowledge. The pieces are assembled to reveal a clear, comprehensive picture of a market.
The Four Pillars of Our Research
We use a combination of four main research methods when creating our reports, each adding a valuable perspective:
- Consumer Research: Direct surveys with real people, giving us clear, current insights into what people think and do.
- Desk Research: In-depth review of trusted data sources. We use this rich database, plus powerful internal tools that track new products and market sizes, to detect trends and guide forecasts.
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Each of these four pillars provides a different piece of the puzzle. Consumer research tells us what customers think, desk research provides the factual framework, trade research offers an insider’s view, and social media analysis reveals public sentiment.
Our expert analysts are skilled in weaving these diverse data streams together. They apply a range of quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to uncover the deeper story, connecting the dots to deliver clear, actionable insights. This comprehensive, multi-layered process is how we transform raw data into a market intelligence report you can trust to inform your most important business decisions.
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