Online Shopping in Focus

In March 2026, the Im Fokus survey, conducted in cooperation with m.core/WU Vienna, focused on online shopping. A total of 328 people participated in the survey, 50.9% female, 48.8% male and 0.3% diverse, with an average age of 43.38 years. The goal of the survey was to understand how often consumers shop online, which products they purchase, and whether they reuse the packaging materials that come with their orders.

How often do consumers shop online?

A key part of the survey looked at how frequently participants shop online. The results show that online shopping is part of everyday life for almost all respondents. Only two participants, or 0.6%, said that they had never bought anything online. The largest share of respondents, 34.8%, said they shop online “sometimes.” Another 31.7% said they do so “often,” 17.1% “very often,” and 2.4% “always.” Smaller shares reported shopping online “rarely” (7.9%) or “very rarely” (5.5%).

Taken together, the distribution shows that frequent online shopping is clearly more common in this sample than rare online shopping. The results therefore paint a clear picture: for most respondents, online shopping is not an exception, but a recurring part of their purchasing behavior.

Which products do consumers buy online?

Another focus of the survey was the question of which products are bought online. Multiple answers were possible. Clothing and shoes rank first by a clear margin: 75% of respondents said they buy these products online. Electronics and technology follow with 67%, making them the second most frequently mentioned category.

Several other categories were also named by a considerable share of participants. Books were selected by 49%, sports equipment by 41%, pharmaceuticals by 38%, cosmetics and drugstore products by 38%, and household goods and furniture by 37%. Food and beverages were mentioned much less often, at 16%. A further 8% selected other product categories.

The results reveal clear differences between product groups. While fashion and electronics occupy a particularly strong position in online shopping, other categories are chosen less frequently by comparison.

Do consumers plan to reuse shipping packaging?

The survey also examined the reuse of shipping packaging. Participants were asked whether they intend to reuse packaging materials such as boxes or shipping envelopes and how they think other people of the same age and gender would respond. On a scale from 1 (“do not agree at all”) to 7 (“fully agree”), respondents rated their own intention to reuse packaging at 4.45 on average. For others, the mean rating was lower at 3.91. This difference is statistically significant (t(327) = 6.007, p < .001).

The findings therefore point to a noticeable gap between self-assessment and the assessment of others when it comes to the reuse of shipping packaging. Within this survey, respondents describe themselves as more likely to reuse packaging than they believe others of the same age and gender would be.

Conclusion

The survey results show that online shopping is widely established among the respondents, with most participants buying online at least sometimes and many doing so often. Clothing and shoes, followed by electronics and technology, are the product categories most commonly purchased online, while groceries and beverages are mentioned much less frequently.

At the same time, respondents rate their own intention to reuse shipping packaging higher than that of others of the same age and gender. Taken together, the findings provide a concise picture of online shopping frequency, product preferences, and attitudes toward packaging reuse within the surveyed group.

You can find the full report (in German) here!

published: 24.04.2026