• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, November 29, 2022

Email copywriters are getting busier: They have the job of engaging the growing number of consumers who shop online, even in the event of a recession. 

An imposing 90% of Americans now buy online at least once a month -- up from 71% in 2017, according to 2022 Economy Concerns Survey, a study by digital marketing agency Adtaxi.

Consumers go online to purchase apparel (66%), groceries (46%) and CBD (11%), to name just a few categories.  

But they are wary, and this affects 21% of clothing purchases, 24% of appliance buys, and 23% of home or real estate acquisitions. 

And what if a recession hits? Of those polled, 34% will do more online shopping, while 36% will rely more on online price comparisons, while 32% will cut non-grocery shopping in-store. 

Of course, a major downturn will also affect other plans.  

For instance, 17% will delay their education. Undergraduate enrollment has declined by 9% since the start of the pandemic, the study says.  

Moreover, 51%) will reduce travel — indeed, 28% have already putt off vacations. 

In addition, 17% say they will cancel their cable subscription, doubling the number of those who will cancel a cellphone or local newspaper subscription. The number of cable homes has fallen by 10% since the pandemic hit, and will total less than 35% if there is a recession. 

Publishers can take solace in the fact that relatively few people will cancel their news subscriptions.

“With consumers hyper focused on the economy in the coming weeks and months, these results offer insight into how marketers can maximize their reach while offering buyers products that fit into their budgets,” Loretto adds. 

Lorreto concludes that, looking back five years, the survey statistics prove that “consumers prefer to shop online and are doing so more frequently.” 

Survey Monkey, on behalf of Adtaxi, surveyed 1,068 consumers on August 23rd, 2022.