Popular pastime among North American young people: filling up shopping carts on e-commerce platforms and then removing them

“I think shopping online is a way to pass the time when you’re not actually making a purchase, ” said Jennifer Vance , a 27-year-old who shifted her habits online when brick-and-mortar stores were closed because of the pandemic. “ It’s a way to pass the time when you’re not actually making a purchase. It’s a different thing than shopping online or reading the news or anything depressing . ”

For consumers, filling up their shopping carts and then removing items is nothing new, and is equivalent to their usual shopping behavior. However, due to the epidemic, this kind of pastime seems to have increased, as consumers want to experience shopping without spending money.

Shopping cart abolition appears to have increased during the pandemic as consumers stay at home .

Last June, Jordan Elkind, then vice president of retail insights at Amperity, a customer data and identity platform, listed data: data since the outbreak showed that 94.4% of shopping carts were abandoned , while during the epidemic it was 85.1% . He said this would be equivalent to billions of dollars in e-commerce revenue.

The trend of adding items to carts and then abandoning them isn’t necessarily the worst thing for retailers, as they’re drawing more attention to products that could lead to potential sales, explained Dennis Hegstad, whose company, LiveRecover, helps e-commerce companies recapture consumers who have abandoned their carts by sending text message reminders to customers .

He suggested people might just need to take their time and go shopping online, although "if someone is adding something to their cart without intent, that's a confusing sign."

But some companies may also be paying for ads that attract these online window shoppers, rather than earning the money back, Hegstad said.

“Customers add items to their shopping carts on websites for many reasons besides immediate intent to buy,” said Emily Forrester , senior analyst . “They use their carts as wish lists, to store items while comparison shopping, or as a reminder to themselves to shop later.”

As the pandemic intensifies, more shoppers are completing their purchases virtually , suggesting window shopping is transitioning to the real thing.

Chris Chapo, Vice President of Advanced Analytics at Amperity , said: “As the pandemic continues, e-commerce interactions have changed dramatically . We are hearing from customers and from conversations with many retail brands that website traffic has increased significantly and conversion rates are beginning to increase , which is a positive indicator for the future of digital business. B2C (business-to-consumer) companies will need to focus on customer centricity more than ever before . ”

Americans spent $791.7 billion online last year , up 32.4% from 2019 , according to quarterly data released this month by the U.S. Commerce Department. E-commerce also accounted for 14% of total U.S. sales , up from 11% in 2019.

Studies have shown that this type of consumer behavior can effectively relieve inner anxiety, so it is called "retail therapy."

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Consumer Psychology