The role of the marketplace, while still strong in the overall online shopping journey, is losing its share position according to Attest’s 2024 U.S. Consumer Trends report.

(Source: Attest)

When looking to buy something online, 40.4% of consumers will start on a marketplace (down more than 11% from last year’s numbers), while 29.7% start with a search engine (up almost 5%).

In analyzing Attest’s numbers, EMARKETER says the drop “could be attributed to the nature of self-reported data or search ads clogging results and damaging customer experience.”

Still, marketplace’s standing at the top is “good news for retail media ad spend,” EMARKETER says, accounting for 28.8% of total U.S. search ad spend.

Attest also found that more than 70% of consumers are likely to use their mobile phones for online shopping (up more than 4%), Facebook and YouTube remain the top platforms where consumers interact with brands (with YouTube’s numbers up 5.7% from last year), and online shopping for non-food purchases has increased in popularity.

“Just over 27% of Americans show a preference for in-store shopping, with the remainder splitting their purchasing between online and offline,” the report says. “Consumers aged under 35 show the strongest preference for online shopping, with around 66% doing it habitually.”