Young Shoppers Boost E-Commerce Amid Delivery Woes

Research from Descartes Systems Group indicates that consumers under the age of 35 are driving growth in online shopping while also experiencing higher rates of delivery problems than older age groups.

The study, titled How Smarter Home Delivery Wins Younger Consumers as Online Buying Slows, is Descartes' fourth annual investigation into consumer attitudes towards e-commerce and home deliveries. The findings reveal that although the overall pace of e-commerce growth has slowed, younger shoppers, classified as those aged 18 to 35, have increased both the volume and frequency of their online purchases over the past year.

While 18% of all consumers surveyed reported a decrease in online shopping, 43% of people under 35 said they had increased their spending year-on-year. This compares with 32% of those aged over 65, according to the data gathered by Descartes and SAPIO Research, who surveyed 8,000 consumers across Europe and North America in the first three months of 2025.

The report also found that 44% of respondents in the under-35 age group shop online at least once every two weeks, a notable rise from last year's figure of 33% for the same group. Despite this increased spending and frequency, younger online shoppers reported significantly higher dissatisfaction with their delivery experiences.

According to the study, 79% of consumers under 35 encountered problems with home delivery, in contrast to 66% of consumers across all age groups. Each specific delivery issue referenced in the survey saw a higher proportion of negative experiences among the under-35s than the average response, while shoppers over 65 reported a lower incidence of problems than the overall population.

The survey highlighted that while younger consumers are the primary source of continued growth in online retail, they also have heightened expectations for the quality of home delivery service. This puts additional pressure on retailers and delivery firms seeking to capture and retain these customers.

"The bottom-line impact of negative delivery experiences remains a pressing concern for retailers and their delivery partners, especially with the pace of ecommerce growth steadying post-pandemic. While small improvements in home delivery performance have been made over the past few years, they're not currently reflecting the quality experience consumers are demanding, especially the valuable under 35 cohort, as poor delivery experiences risks the potential lifetime customer value of this demographic," Mavi Silveira, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing at Descartes, commented on the implications for businesses.

The Descartes and SAPIO study aimed to provide a detailed overview of current e-commerce and delivery performance. Researchers examined motivations for changes in online purchasing, the types of goods bought, purchase frequency, delivery preferences, the occurrence of delivery failures, and the impact those failures have on perceptions of retailers and their logistics partners. Differences in these behaviours and perceptions across age groups formed a central part of the analysis.

Among the broader conclusions, the data indicate that while older customers remain active in online retail, their satisfaction with home delivery is generally higher than that of the younger demographic. In contrast, the under-35s' increased purchasing activity is paired with a comparatively high level of discontent and higher expectations, factors which retailers and delivery providers may need to address to maintain customer loyalty.