Online sales growth is continuing to outpace overall retail sales growth in the US, as consumers spend more time online and subsequently become more accustomed to shopping online. This report will focus on how consumers are finding products, including a closer look at food and drink products and beauty products, where they think retailers are falling short, and what companies that sell online can do to convince shoppers to buy products online in the future that they have never tried before.

Retailers and manufacturers need to introduce themselves to consumers by making sure that their own websites are consistently updated with fresh product descriptions, videos, and high definition images that show consumers everything they need to know about a particular product before ultimately deciding to purchase. While Amazon is dominating online retail overall, both food and drink as well as beauty consumers have indicated that it’s not necessarily the first place they turn to when learning about products online, indicating that there is an opportunity to win online consumers over with the right combination of product content and assurances about the quality of the products being sold online.

For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:

This report will focus on how shoppers are finding products online (in general as well as specifically for food /drink and beauty categories), which types of product content they find to be most valuable, and what ultimately prompts them to buy a new product online (including impulse/spontaneous purchases).

This is the first in a series of eCommerce Reports that are meant to build on each other and take readers through key issues in eCommerce. Each Report focuses on a key issue addressing one or more moments of truth in a shopper’s eCommerce journey.