Fun with Data – Buying Stuff On-Line
There has been no dearth of commentary on how the world has changed due to broad and local travel restrictions caused by COVID-19, but we always look to the data for hard facts. A March 2021 consumer attitude survey[1] by PwC gave some measure of specifics from consumers and how they related to both shopping in general, and the potential changes that the pandemic has made on their shopping habits (Fig. 1).
[1] PwC Survey Metodology - For the first pulse in the series, we polled 8,738 consumers across 22 territories (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Middle East, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam). The survey was translated into 16 languages and fielded in November 2021. The respondents were at least 18 years old and were required to have shopped online at least once in the previous year.
[1] PwC Survey Metodology - For the first pulse in the series, we polled 8,738 consumers across 22 territories (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Middle East, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam). The survey was translated into 16 languages and fielded in November 2021. The respondents were at least 18 years old and were required to have shopped online at least once in the previous year.
In-Store vs. Mobile Shopping - Source: PwC Global Insights Pulse Survey
As noted, the most obvious, or at least most spoken about change, has been the move to on-line shopping as opposed to in-store, however while the pandemic might have accelerated the pace at which this was occurring, we note that the trend has been in place for some time, with absolute sales for both venues seen in Fig. 2 and the rate of change seen in Fig. 3.
In-Store vs. E-Commerce Sales - Source: DigitalCommerce360.com
In-Store vs. E-Commerce Growth Rates - Source: DigitalCommerce360.com
If we look at the very unusual growth rate of e-commerce in 2020 as an anomaly, the question remains as to what will happen after the effects of the pandemic are no longer a major influence on the attitudes of shoppers. A few hints are provided when the data (mobile devices) is broken down by generation. According to the survey, only 6% of the ‘Greatest Generation” (b. 1901 – 1925) were likely to use their smartphones to shop daily or weekly, while 11% of “Baby Boomers” (b. 1946 – 1964) were in a similar mode. “Generation X” (b. 1965 – 1980) were (28%) likely to shop on their smartphones, but “millennials” (b. 1980 – 2000) were the leaders at 43%, while the rate was lower for “Gen Z” (b. 2000 - ?) at 35%.
While the highest rate was from millennials, which was no surprise, we were a bit stumped by the lower rate for Gen Z, although that could be due to their relatively low earning power. Missing from the data was “The Silent Generation” (b. 1925 – 1945), who, we assume were living up to their name and not answering any questions. We added the percentage of the US population each generation represented in mid-2019 for reference.
While the highest rate was from millennials, which was no surprise, we were a bit stumped by the lower rate for Gen Z, although that could be due to their relatively low earning power. Missing from the data was “The Silent Generation” (b. 1925 – 1945), who, we assume were living up to their name and not answering any questions. We added the percentage of the US population each generation represented in mid-2019 for reference.
Unfortunately the PwC survey is not specific to consumer electronics but it does show what consumers in each generational category expect to spend more on over the next six months. While the data here is not as fine in terms of age groups, it does show 7 product spending categories and expectations for each. The ‘Takeaway food” category is no surprise given the pandemic, nor was “Home Entertainment”, the closest to the consumer electronics space, but we were surprised that both “Eating in Restaurants/Bars”, “Travel”, and “Arts, Culture & Sporting Events” were as strong, although they seemed to be a focus of the younger generations. What we could not figure out was why “home Entertainment” was low with Baby Boomers, who grew up in front of television sets. We note that the Greatest/Silent Generation was not left out of the “Health & Beauty” category but they registered zero intent to spend in that venue over the next six months.
6 Month Forward Spending Plans by Generation - Source: SCMR LLC, PwC
[1] PwC Survey Methodology - For the first pulse in the series, we polled 8,738 consumers across 22 territories (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Middle East, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam). The survey was translated into 16 languages and fielded in November 2021. The respondents were at least 18 years old and were required to have shopped online at least once in the previous year.
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