Survey: Many consumers will continue online habits post-pandemic

More than four in 10 U.S. consumers will do more online shopping post-pandemic.

According to the ESET Global FinTech Study, 70% of U.S. consumers are shopping more online than they did before the pandemic, with 36% doing so "much more often" than before. Forty-four percent said they expected to; however, 17% expect to do less, while 32% say their habits will not change compared to their current ones.

The survey also looked at U.S. consumer attitudes toward cybersecurity and whether they believe they are secure online. Eighty-seven percent said they feel secure, with 38% saying they feel "very secure." Among age groups, 18-24-year-olds feel the least secure, with 23% stating that they feel "not at all secure" or "not particularly secure."

About three-quarters (73%) of U.S. consumers believe they would be able to spot a phishing emailing imitating one of the online shops they regularly use. In the 55-plus age group, that number decreased, with 64% believing they would be able to spot a fraudulent email. As far as security measures, 17% said they have no antivirus software on their personal devices and an additional 28% only have the software on some of their devices. 

The survey from cybersecurity firm ESET examined the online shopping and cybersecurity habits of 2,000 consumers in the U.S. and 8,000 consumers across the U.K., Australia, Japan, Mexico and Brazil.