E-commerce growth is slowing, but grocery buyers are more willing to pay a premium than any other category.

These are among the findings from insights firm BrandSpark’s “Ecommerce Shopper Study,” which reveal that weekly online shopping, while still moving higher, slowed from a 44% surge in November 2020 to 13% higher over the summer.

Grocery buyers are the leader when it comes to willingness to pay a premium for online purchases (40% of the 4,347 people surveyed) while houseware and small appliance buyers are the least likely (25%).

The willingness to pay a premium is down by 8% in housewares and small appliances, 7% in food and beverage and 5% in personal care, compared to BrandSpark data from November.

However, strategies to capture new category shoppers remain crucial, as housewares and small appliances buyers are the largest percentage of consumers new to the ecomm experience in the previous four months at 32%, ahead of vitamin and supplements buyers at 22% and personal care, office equipment and grocery buyers, each at 20.

And in the food and beverage category, the data reveals more brand switching, with 8% more shoppers reporting a mix of goods purchased online and in-store (see, below).

In fact, 65% of respondents across categories agree that they will pay a little more for a new product if they think it may be better than what is currently available.

That said, according to BrandSpark data, old habits die hard, as the flyer continues to be important tool, with 10% more respondents checking multiple sites for shelf-stable goods.

Consumers continue to turn to reviews too. In fact, 87% of shoppers look for consumer reviews when shopping online, a key for conversion. A majority report that reviews impact most of their product choices, with 60% in agreement that they will try a new product if the reviews are better than for the brand they regularly purchase.

When it comes to expectations of online-offline price parity, the bulk of consumers – ranging from half to two-thirds, depending on the category – expect online prices to be the same as those in-store.

When it comes to the largest ecomm players, Walmart is the most popular in grocery, while Amazon continues to dominate personal and household care shopping. But in the cosmetics and office supply categories, there is not a clear leader, representing a big opportunity for competitors.