Viant Releases Analysis of Ecommerce Acceleration

(Irvine, CA, June 24, 2020) – Viant’s omnichannel demand-side platform, today released its “Behind the Rise of Ecommerce in America” whitepaper, highlighting what ecommerce marketers need to know about lasting online shopping trends in the wake of COVID-19. As online shopping accelerates, this paper delves into the marketing tactics ecommerce brands can employ to succeed in such a crowded marketplace, as well as the importance of looking beyond traditional marketing channels.

Prior to COVID-19 closures, consumers were already shopping online more than ever before, with 41% shopping online once a week, and 74% shopping online at least monthly. However, the pandemic, which forced millions of Americans to shelter in place, has further accelerated this trend. According to Viant’s survey, now 59% of consumers shop online at least once a week, and 86% say they are currently online shopping at least once a month. As life returns to “normal,” there are no signs of this trend slowing. Because of this, ecommerce marketers must explore new tactics to reach their target consumers.

“The acceleration of ecommerce adoption in the U.S. is staggering,” said Jon Schulz, CMO at Viant. “Consumer convenience, combined with advertising and transactional efficiency is a strong formula for retail success going forward.”

In a survey of 1,005 US-based adults fielded in May 2020, Viant’s findings revealed:

• Since March 2020, there was a 33% increase in those shopping online 4-6 days a week, a 54% increase in those shopping online 2-3 days a week, and a 39% increase in those shopping online once a week.
• 82% of people who reported shopping online more during the COVID-19 pandemic say they plan to keep shopping online with increased frequency after the pandemic ends.
• More than a third of people say they will be shopping online more in the future because of COVID-19.
• 63% of those who said they bought groceries online since March 2020 said it was their first time doing so, and 69% of those who ordered groceries online during the pandemic said they plan to continue doing so even after the pandemic ends.
• More than half of consumers surveyed who are purchasing goods online that they did not purchase online before the first quarter of 2020 are purchasing preventative health and wellness products and plan to continue doing so after the pandemic ends.

To download the full Behind the Rise of Ecommerce in America whitepaper, please click here.

About Viant

Viant® is a leading people-based advertising software company that enables ad buyers to plan, buy, and measure their advertising investments. Its self-service DSP for omnichannel advertising, provides the ability to execute programmatic advertising campaigns across Connected TV, linear TV, mobile, desktop, audio and digital out-of-home. Viant’s Identity Resolution capabilities have linked 115 million U.S. households to more than 1 billion connected devices, and is combined with access to more than 12,000 audience attributes from more than 60 people-based data partners. Viant is an Inc. Best Places to Work award winner. To learn more, visit viantinc.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Methodology

In addition to Viant’s first-party data obtained through their leading subscription-based omnichannel demand-side platform, Viant commissioned a survey conducted by an independent market research company Censuswide in May 2020 of 1,005 adults based in the United States.