Majority of consumers multitask while shopping online

Kaycee Enerva

27th Jan 2025

More consumers now multitask while shopping online; engaging in other activities, such as scrolling social media, watching Netflix, or browsing videos on TikTok or YouTube.

A recent study by the retail management platform Salsify found that 69 per cent of consumers make purchases while multitasking.

Dom Scarlett, research director of Salsify, shared that customers make faster, more fragmented buying decisions but still expect seamless and personalised experiences.

“Retailers must earn trust by combining affordability with richer, more accurate content, as shoppers prioritise relevance and reliability over impulse buying,” he explained.

Other key insights from Salsify’s 2025 Consumer Shopping Report include:

• Frugality due to economic anxiety: Growing economic concerns have prompted 66 per cent of shoppers to cut back on non-essentials, with 52 per cent opting for less expensive store brands. Additionally, 27 per cent of consumers have turned to side hustles, with 18 per cent relying on savings or debt to manage expenses.
• Influencers and virality shape purchases: The study found that 39 per cent of shoppers bought items based on influencer recommendations, and trending products on platforms like TikTok and Instagram influenced 34 per cent.
• Livestreams and AI: Technologies like live shopping and AI are becoming mainstream. Purchases made through livestreams increased by 22 per cent from last year, and 28 per cent of shoppers now trust AI assistants to guide their decisions.
• Content mismatches hurt credibility: 54 per cent of shoppers abandoned purchases due to conflicting details in the product descriptions, and 71 per cent returned items over wrong descriptions.
• Digging deeper: Compared to previous years when users relied on first-page results to help them decide on purchases, consumers are now exploring beyond, with 41 per cent scrolling up to page three and 26 per cent continuing to page five.

“Winning today means mastering technology, trust, and content to meet the needs of fast-moving, multitasking shoppers,” Scarlett concluded. 

The study was conducted in October last year among 1910 online shoppers in the US and UK.