When it comes to building an effective eCommerce strategy, knowing where your consumers are is one of the most valuable insights a brand can have. Having access to geographical data for your shoppers could be your brand's secret ingredient to grow market share, maximize ad spend, or ensure inventory is available in the right places.
To help provide valuable insight into the latest regional trends, MikMak took a closer look at how consumers shop in the US; here’s what we found out.
Most shopping traffic comes from the Southern US, with the highest Purchase Intent Rates in the Northeast
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According to the MikMak Shopping Index, the Southern region of the US has the highest Share of Purchase Intent Clicks at 39 percent. Share of Purchase Intent Clicks measures the number of times a shopper has clicked through to at least one retailer during a single session. However, it is important to note that the Southern US is more highly populated than other regions, which may be the reason for its increased traffic. Meanwhile, the Northeastern US comes in second, driving 21 percent of Purchase Intent Clicks. The Midwestern and Western US yield 20 and 18 percent of Purchase Intent Clicks, respectively.
Although the South holds the highest Share of Purchase Intent Clicks, the Northeast has the highest Purchase Intent Rate with 5.8 percent. This means the percentage of shoppers who clicked through to at least one retailer is higher in these states than in the South, which comes in second with a Purchase Intent Rate of 5.4 percent. The Western US closely follows the South with a Purchase Intent Rate of 5.3 percent, and the Midwest trails behind with a 5 percent Purchase Intent Rate.
Nevada yields the highest Purchase Intent Rates of any state
As a region, the West comes in third for overall Purchase Intent Rate, and the Western US state of Nevada has the highest Purchase Intent Rate compared to any other state in the country at 6.6 percent.
While Nevada takes the lead, the highest Purchase Intent Rate in the South comes from Florida at 6.3 percent. New Jersey is the Northeastern State with the highest Purchase Intent Rate at 6.4 percent, and Wisconsin is the champion of the Midwest with a Purchase Intent Rate of 5.8 percent.
Remember this information when allocating your ad spend to certain geolocations; it could increase the likelihood of shoppers adding your brand’s product to their carts.
Meta x Walmart is the Channel x Retailer mix across the US
Across social channels, Meta (Instagram and Facebook) is the surefire leader no matter which geographical area in the US you look at. Instagram, specifically, is top with Purchase Intent Rates ranging from 13.4 percent (in the Southern US) to 14.1 percent (in the Midwestern US). Facebook is in second place, with a range of 6 percent (in both the Southern and Midwestern US), to 7.5 percent (in the Northeastern US).
Beyond Meta channels, YouTube comes in third across all regions, and Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter, and Snap follow behind in that order.
Similar to the Meta channels leading the pack for social commerce, the three largest retailers, Walmart, Amazon, and Target, are preferred by shoppers in all US regions, with Walmart being the top choice overall.
Beyond the “Big Three,” we see shifts in retailer preference for smaller retailers. In the Southern US, popular alcohol retailer, Drizly follows Target for fourth place with 6.6 percent of Purchase Intent Clicks, and Instacart is just behind with 6.2 percent. Kroger (3.8 percent), Total Wine (3.3 percent), Walgreens (2.5 percent), Ulta (2.1 percent), and CVS (1.4 percent) all round out the top ten, in that order.
For the Northeast, Drizly still comes fourth behind Target with 7.7 percent of Purchase Intent Clicks. Instacart follows with 7.5 percent. Beyond Instacart, Total Wine (2.3 percent), Walgreens (2.2 percent), CVS (1.9 percent), Ulta (1.8 percent), and Kroger (1.7 percent) complete the region’s Top Ten retailers in the MikMak Shopping Index.
The Midwestern US sees a slight shift, with Instacart following the top three with 6.1 percent of Purchase Intent Clicks. Drizly follows with 5.1 percent. Local grocer Kroger (4.0 percent) is next, with Walgreens (2.5 percent), Ulta (1.9 percent), CVS (1.4 percent), and Sam’s Club (1.3 percent) trailing behind.
The Western US also follows this pattern, with Instacart driving more Purchase Intent Clicks than Drizly with 5.3 percent. Drizly follows at 4.2 percent, while Albertson’s (3.4 percent), Safeway (3.0 percent), BevMo! (2.7 percent), Ulta (2.3 percent), and Total Wine (2.3 percent) round out the Top 10 for this region.
While Grocery sees the most in-market traffic, the top Purchase Intent Rates by category vary for each region
For each region in the US, Grocery brands see the most Purchase Intent Clicks, or in-market traffic, in the MikMak Shopping Index compared to other categories. However, Grocery does not rank first regarding Purchase Intent Rate.
For the South, Personal Care is the top category, with a Purchase Intent Rate of 12.6 percent. Toys & Gaming follows at 12.5 percent, and alcohol after that with 11.1 percent.
In the Northeast, we see the same top categories as the South when it comes to traffic (Grocery, Alcohol, Personal Care, Beauty, and Toys & Gaming). However, regarding Purchase Intent Rate, Toys & Gaming is first with 14.7 percent. In second is Personal Care, with a 13.9 percent Purchase Intent Rate, and then Personal Care at 12.1 percent.
The Midwest shows some shifts in traffic by category, with Grocery and Alcohol still ranking first, but Toys & Gaming following in third, and Beauty and Personal Care rounding out the top five categories (by traffic). Meanwhile, Purchase Intent Rates are highest in the Midwest for Alcohol at 14.7 percent, Toys are second at 12.6 percent, and Personal Care is third at 12.1 percent.
Finally, the West shows the most distinct shifts. Although Grocery is still leading the pack in traffic, Personal Care is second, with Household Goods, Alcohol, and Beauty completing the top five categories. When looking at Purchase Intent Rate, Toys & Gaming has the highest with 15 percent, Personal Care is in second at 13.2 percent, and Alcohol third at 9.8 percent.
Knowing how your brand’s category performs in different geographical regions can help you decide which areas are most important to allocate ad spend or adjust creative for.
Use geographic data to tailor your marketing campaigns and protect market share
Using geographical data can help your brand adjust marketing efforts to fit the needs of your consumer. Partnering with an eCommerce enablement and analytics software like MikMak can help your brand stay close to the data it needs to reach the consumers most likely to buy.
For example, Tim Horton’s launched regional-specific, shoppable media for Florida residents to shop for the Canadian-famous coffee brand in their local retailers. Your brand can also reach specific geographic audiences like this, and adjust your marketing accordingly with MikMak. Find out more by scheduling a demo today.
