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As a result, we recommend retailers revisit their segmentation strategies, paid media targets, and product recommendations. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics can help retailers rapidly adjust those strategies, find the best audiences, and segment based on different sets of attributes, including geography. AI also analyzes actions to predict how audiences will respond to messaging. Learn more about how to create smart segmentation strategies here. Has your organization already implemented AI? Learn how to adjust your AI strategy for volatility.

Priorities, behaviors across the U.S. have changed

Regardless of the differences in regional shopping behaviors, one thing is clear: Priorities have changed. Before the pandemic, consumers browsed and made purchases online during commuting or evening hours. Peak orders happened between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. With the absence of a commute and a clear delineation between work and home, consumers have shifted their browsing and buying habits to midday hours. Now, digital orders are peaking between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. 

But the lines between work and home aren’t the only aspects of our lives becoming blurred. Do you have a hard time remembering what day of the week it is recently? You’re not alone. Before the pandemic, consumers tended to alter their browsing and buying habits between weekdays and weekends. These days there are fewer differences in shopping behavior between weekdays and weekends:

Consumers are prioritizing their evenings for family dinner and activities and saving the bulk of their commerce activities for working hours. Brands must adjust to these new routines, lead with values, and reach consumers at the right time. Brands like Fender and Glossier are doing so by offering new digital experiences, free guitar lessons, and sample make-up routines, respectively, to customers stuck at home.

Top five searches by metro during lockdown

These days it’s all about the basics. We analyzed search trends across the U.S., and it was apparent that our interests can unite us. One search term made it into most major metro’s top five list: Disney. With parents working from home and kids out of school, undoubtedly, consumers were searching for products that would keep their children engaged. Another surprise? Most shoppers were daydreaming about the summer as “dresses” made the top five list among many cities. 

But there are differences, too. For example, consumers in Chicago are looking to upgrade their living spaces with a new sofa. Meanwhile, New York City shoppers are craving some luxury as “Gucci” topped their top five most searched terms. Find out what your consumers are searching for in the chart below:

Social traffic and orders have also increased as consumers use social media as their primary form of connection. In the U.S., Q1 digital traffic referred from social channels grew by 47%. That growth was even higher from traffic referred by a mobile device, increasing 56% over the previous year. Meanwhile, orders from social channels also surged, growing by 57% overall, and 68% from mobile devices. As shoppers rely on their social channels to connect, the lines between socializing and commerce will continue to blur.

Successful retailers will adopt social listening and contribute to conversations where your product or services are relevant — ensuring to maintain a humble and helpful tone. If customers are shopping via social, guide them as they make their purchase decisions with social selling best practices.

Adjusting to a “new normal”

The shift to digital commerce as non-essential stores shuttered was both quick and dramatic. Americans living in hard-hit areas like New York City and Chicago relied on ecommerce the most. But the reality is that consumers across the country are turning to digital in records numbers to complete purchases for the most basic necessities. 

To keep up with consumer needs in this unprecedented time, try free resources like Quip or Salesforce Care for Commerce Communications as you develop new work-from-home processes. Also, access free online guidance for keeping it together despite the crisis.

To learn more about the changing habits of American shoppers along with those in other countries in the face of the pandemic, visit the Tableau public dashboard that merges publicly available COVID-19 data with Salesforce Shopping Index data.

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Q1 Shopping Index Methodology

The Q1 Shopping Index uncovers the true shopping story through analyzing the activity of more than one billion shoppers across more than 34 countries powered by Commerce Cloud, with a focus on 10 key markets: U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Japan, Netherlands, Australia/New Zealand, and the Nordics. This battery of benchmarks provides a deep look into the last nine quarters and the current state of digital commerce. Several factors are applied to extrapolate actuals for the broader retail industry and these results are not indicative of Salesforce performance.