Ecommerce sales increased during the pandemic.
Online shopping has become a popular pastime for people around the globe as they spend more time at their homes.
COVID-19 saw millions of people spend more time on the internet.
Will the ecommerce industry continue to grow after we recover from the pandemic?
These statistics on ecommerce give us a complete picture of the current state and prospects for ecommerce.
Key Ecommerce Statistic
Here are some key statistics about ecommerce that you should be aware of:
In 2021, it is estimated that 2.14 billion people will buy services or products online – this is about 27% of the global population
In 2021, mobile devices will account for $3.56 trillion of online sales.
Ecommerce will account for approximately 22% of global retail sales by 2023, with a total value of $6.15 trillion.
China, the United States, and the United Kingdom are the three largest adopters of electronic commerce
Sales will grow by 44% by 2020, thanks to the pandemic.
32 countries reported that the ecommerce market would grow by double digits between 2020 and 2021
Over 26 million online stores and sites are available worldwide
In 2021, the global ecommerce industry is expected to reach $4.9 trillion.
COVID-19 Statistics on Ecommerce
The pandemic has pushed online shopping into a new direction.
Brick-and-mortar companies were the only ones forced to go online. At the height of the pandemic, 20%-30% of grocery shops opened an online store for online sales.
The convenience of proximity mobile payment has become more popular as people spend more money online.
Since 2020, the number of people using proximity mobile payment has increased by 22 percent per year.
In 2022, 1,35 billion people are expected to use proximity payments.
About 17% of all people in the world will regularly use mobile proximity payment.
Social commerce, or the sale of products directly through social media websites such as Facebook and Instagram, has also skyrocketed.
In 2020, social commerce accounted for 3,4% of retail ecommerce.
It’s not going to stop anytime soon. Globally, social commerce is expected to grow three times faster than traditional ecommerce.
By 2021, the market will be worth $492 billion
By 2025, the U.S. will have spent $1.2 trillion
The predictions also indicate that ecommerce sales will grow at double-digit rates through 2023. Crazy, right?
Gyms have been forced to close in most countries. People still need to exercise.
What was the solution to this problem?
Spending on home gyms accounted for an 18% increase in recreational goods. This is expected to decrease as people return to the gym.
The U.S. ecommerce industry reaped the greatest benefit from the pandemic.
In the U.S., an increase of $218 billion was recorded in online sales due to COVID-19.
There is one thing that we can say regarding these statistics on ecommerce…
The COVID-19 epidemic was a catalyst that sparked growth in the entire sector, even creating unexpected and new ecommerce segments.
Ecommerce Trends Statistics
As technology grows, so does ecommerce.
This is a dynamic industry that changes rapidly. These ecommerce stats show current trends in this booming industry.
Mobile Ecommerce
The world is now mobile.
It is only natural that consumers use their smartphones to shop online. More than 90% of people use their smartphones to shop online.
Businesses are encouraging online purchases by developing interactive mobile apps.
The most downloaded shopping apps in the app stores are Amazon Prime and Android. In 2020, Amazon ranked as the most popular shopping app.
79% of smartphone owners have bought a product or a service with their mobile device within the past six months.
There are over 294 million smartphone owners in the U.S., 232 million of whom regularly purchase online.
Why has mobile commerce become so popular?
Three out of four (75%) consumers use smartphones and tablet devices to make online purchases because they save time. It’s about convenience, as with most mobile devices.
As mobile shopping grows, so do consumers’ expectations.
Over 90% of online shoppers believe that mobile ecommerce can be improved. The vast majority of online consumers agree that mobile ecommerce has a lot to improve.
What are their biggest concerns?
Links/buttons too small to be clicked and security are the two main issues people have with mobile shopping.
Shoppers need to be confident that their data will be protected when they shop online.
Digital Payment
The use of digital payments is growing.
Many people are enjoying the convenience of being able to buy goods and services without having to use their credit cards.
Online payments are more secure when made using digital payment methods.
Two of the most popular digital payment methods in the world are:
Digital wallets- Payments made through an app
Mobile wallets- Payments from your credit/debit cards on your phone
In the world, 49% of users use digital payment for online shopping and purchases.
Apple Pay and Google Pay are now major parts of the e-commerce payment process for customers and merchants alike in the United States.
Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal remain the most popular payment methods for ecommerce shops. Visa and MasterCard are accepted by 99.9% of online stores. 72% accept PayPal.
It is interesting to note that Alipay and WeChat Pay dominate the Chinese payments market.
These digital payment services are the most popular in the world, with a combined user base of 2.5 billion.
Germans still prefer direct bank transfers called ELV (Elektronisches Lastschriftverfahren), a payment method supported by most banks in Germany.
Customers who do not like to use credit cards or debit cards can choose this alternative method of payment.
Consumer Behaviour
When do people most often buy online?
The majority of people imagine a person at their kitchen table, sitting in front of a computer and browsing the internet. The results are slightly different.
43% said that they often make online purchases while lying in bed.
23% of office workers admit to buying at the office
Purchase 20% of your purchase in the bathroom, car, or while driving.
Free shipping is often the main reason why people do not make an online purchase.
Free shipping is expected as ecommerce becomes a common way of shopping.
There are many other reasons for shopping online.
Pay attention to these ecommerce stats if you’re an ecommerce retailer looking to boost sales.
It’s time to add free shipping to your online store if you don’t already.
More than a third of customers look up prices online while in a brick-and-mortar store.
It means that, even if customers are in a physical shop, they could be shopping online simultaneously.
All ecommerce owners should prioritize content.
It will improve not only your SEO for e-commerce but also eight percent of customers’ research before they make a purchasing decision.
Your customers will move down the funnel faster if you have great content.
BCG studies show that highly personalized content can increase ecommerce revenue. Personalized content increases the likelihood of customers adding more products to their basket by 110%.
Personalized content can increase revenues by over 25% and improve the chances that your customers will spend more than what they originally planned by over 40%.
Content that is tailored to your customer’s needs can lead to a significant boost in revenue and sales.
Social Media and Influencers
Influencer marketing is now a common marketing strategy used by ecommerce companies and other businesses around the globe.
13% of consumers will spend more on a product if a celebrity or influencer promotes it.
This figure rises to 22% for consumers aged between 26 and 35.
Influencers who promote a product are more likely than not to sell it to younger generations.
But the story doesn’t end there. In 2022, the influencer marketing industry will surpass $16.4 billion.
In 2017, 17% of companies that sell e-commerce products will spend more than 50% of their marketing budget on influencer campaigns.
When comparing two items, the majority of U.S. consumers look to social media for comparison.
To help them make purchasing decisions, they want to know what other people think.
While social media shopping is on the rise, 57% still prefer to make their purchases through an online retailer’s website.
Only 18.7% completed their transaction via the social media application.
The numbers will likely change dramatically over the next three years.
Ecommerce Statistics by Country
Most people assume that the United States is the largest spender in ecommerce.
This is not the case. The U.S. online market may be more established, but other countries are quickly catching up.
The countries with the highest adoption of online shopping are:
CountryEcommerce Market 2021
China $2 Trillion
United States $843 Billion
United Kingdom $169 Billion
Japan $144 Billion
South Korea $120 Billion
Take a closer look at these statistics.
China
China leads the world in online shopping and ecommerce adoption.
In 2021, they will have 792,5 million digital purchasers. This is more than twice the population of the United States.
It’s only going to get faster…
China will be the first nation in the world where more than half of all retail sales are done online.
The ecommerce boom in China has many reasons:
Faster internet speeds
Huge smartphone adoption
Confidence of online shoppers
More trusted ecommerce platforms
Pay safely with Alipay or WeChat pay
In fact, the Chinese ecommerce market is expected to reach a market share of nearly 51% and handle almost $1.12 trillion of merchandise sales.
United States
The United States is second in terms of ecommerce spending and adoption. In 2021, the U.S. ecommerce market will reach $843 billion.
It won’t slow down after the pandemic.
Over the past five years, retail ecommerce sales have grown 17.9% per year.
In the U.S., conversion rates for online shoppers reached 2.57% and are steadily increasing.
The U.S. ecommerce industry is expected to grow in the coming years due to increased sales and conversion rates.
The fact is that 79% of U.S. citizens shop online already, indicating a high penetration of the ecommerce industry.
Ecommerce is also likely to take retail sales away from brick-and-mortar stores, which will improve market growth.
U.S. ecommerce customers are fond of shopping apps.
57% of digital shoppers say they check the price on a retailer’s mobile app when they are in-store.
The trend indicates that smart shoppers are checking online to see if the product is cheaper, even if it means waiting a couple extra days to get the product.
United Kingdom
The U.K. is ranked third in the world for ecommerce adoption. The total size of the ecommerce industry in the U.K. is expected to reach $169.02 Billion by 2021.
This is significantly lower than in the U.S. or China.
Around 50 million U.K. customers regularly shop online. It means that approximately 74.3% (or all U.K. citizens) shop online. This is a very high penetration rate for ecommerce.
The total U.K. retail sales were 37.5%.
It is expected that this country will grow, but not as quickly as other countries.
Experts predict that from 2021 to 2025, retail ecommerce in the U.K. will grow only at a rate of 5.16 % per year.
The U.K. ecommerce stats could be interpreted in two ways:
The U.K. has reached its maximum capacity for ecommerce adoption
U.K. shoppers still prefer to shop at physical stores
Mobile devices will likely become the new payment method for online sales.
In the U.K., 67% of all online purchases were made using mobile devices in the third quarter of 2021.
Mobile payments could be the main driver of future e-commerce growth in the U.K., as they make online shopping more convenient.
Canada
Ecommerce in Canada boomed during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The growth rate is expected to be more than 70% in 2020.
In 2021, the rate of growth slowed to only 14%. This is the average annual growth rate that experts predict will continue until 2025.
The pandemic has clearly had a huge impact on the Canadian ecommerce industry.
The total revenue generated by e-commerce from retail sales in Canada was $25.4 billion. By 2025, it is expected to surpass $90 Billion.
Canada will likely remain among the top 10 countries when it comes to the size of its ecommerce markets.
Canada is currently ranked 8th in the world.
Cost of goods and savings are two major factors driving online sales in Canada.
Most Canadians consider these two critical factors before buying online or in a store.
Japan
Japan is ranked 4th when it comes to the size of its ecommerce industry. This may not last much longer.
Japan’s annual ecommerce rate is only 6%, which is very slow in comparison to other countries.
74.1% (or about 100 million) of the Japanese population shop online.
By 2025, this is expected to increase to 89%.
Why is the growth rate so slow?
Japan’s population is aging. Although older Japanese people are slowly adopting ecommerce, they still buy most of their products in physical stores.
The growth of ecommerce may slow down in the future.
Travel is the largest category of ecommerce in Japan.
It is a very different country from China, the United States, or the United Kingdom.
Japanese online shoppers also take a long time to adopt digital payment methods. The majority of Japanese online shoppers prefer to use a debit or credit card.
Ecommerce Statistics By Industry
Global retail ecommerce reached its peak during the pandemic, despite major issues in the supply chain.
What do people buy today?
The biggest industries in ecommerce right now.
You can also check out our Fashionable Clothing.
Fashion is a major ecommerce market. In 2022, the average online shopper is expected to spend $921 per item on fashion.
Fashion isn’t only a stable sector of ecommerce – it’s also one of the fastest-growing sectors. Between 2017 and 2021, the growth rates for ecommerce apparel and clothing were:
In the United States, 8.1% of people are obese
In Europe, 8.7% of the population is under 18.
China: 14.1%
Clothing and accessories sales are expected to grow by 18.9% in e-commerce sales.
By 2025, the U.S. alone is expected to see ecommerce fashion sales reach more than $295 Billion. In 2021, sales were $180 billion.
Fashion sales did not seem to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as much as other industries.
Both 2020 and 2021 saw a relatively constant growth rate.
Beauty and personal care
Beauty and personal care are also very popular online industries.
It’s only going to grow. By 2023, the online beauty and personal care market will increase by 48 percent.
Personal care online retail sales reached $332 billion by 2020. This was a massive increase in 2019, growing at a rate of 28.5%.
Enjoy the Entertainment
Over the next five years, online purchases of entertainment will grow dramatically.
Allied Market Research estimates that the value of online content will be $183 billion by 2019. They estimate that by 2027, the importance of online entertainment will reach $652 billion.
The growth rate is expected to be around 356,5% over the next five years.
Entertainment niches are the fastest-growing ecommerce segment.
Books
Musicians
Video
An estimated 95.6% of Americans 13 years and older listen daily to audio content (music, podcasts, etc).
The average American reads 12 books per annum. Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, print book sales have increased by over 8.9%.
All three forms of entertainment are more easily accessible through online and ecommerce platforms.
Buy Household Goods
DIY home projects became increasingly popular during the pandemic.
It is only natural that the products needed to complete these projects would also increase. In 2020, sales of home repair tools and equipment online retailers will grow by 8 percent.
The household goods industry does not have a lot of growth.
Also, the outdoor home landscape segment saw a decent increase. Outdoor living furniture and gardening equipment will grow by 9% in 2020.
Many people took advantage of the pandemic to improve their gardens and homes.
Electronics
Consumer electronics is a popular category in the online world.
In 2020, the U.S. electronic industry is expected to generate $117 billion in revenue. This represents 22% of all e-commerce.
Amazon is the most popular place to purchase electronics. It is the leader in U.S. electronics sales, generating revenue of $61.4 billion from electronics by 2020.
In the U.S., computer and consumer electronics account for 53.2%.
Ecommerce Market Leaders Statistics
Most of the e-commerce market is controlled and dominated by large platforms and marketplaces.
Here are the statistics on both.
Ecommerce Platforms
Ecommerce platforms allow anyone to create an online store and begin selling products.
Here are some statistics about ecommerce platforms that you should know.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce – is an ecommerce WordPress plugin.
You can transform your WordPress site into a robust and fully functional online store.
How popular is it in the United States?
WooCommerce controlled 27,86% of all online stores in 2021. It’s pretty impressive.
WooCommerce will work best if you already have a WordPress website.
WooCommerce is used by 93% of all WordPress website owners who sell goods on their websites.
The plugin has been downloaded over 123,000,000 times since the launch of WooCommerce. It is the largest e-commerce platform in the entire world.
Shopify
Shopify is a name that most people are familiar with.
Shopify revenue grew 56% to $4.6 billion by 2021. Shopify was a popular platform for people to make some money during the pandemic.
Shopify has 1.75 million merchants selling mostly physical products. More than 44 million customers will have purchased products from Shopify stores by 2020.
In 2021, they will have processed over $175 billion of sales.
Shopify store owners collectively earned $2.9 billion on Black Friday. This is about $3.1 million per minute.
Shopify has no doubt mastered the art of handling large-scale ecommerce transactions.
Shopify’s popularity is due to its ease of use in creating great-looking websites.
Shopify’s mobile experience is among the best in the industry. 79% of its traffic comes from mobile devices.
Shopify has an app store as well. More than 3,200 apps are available from developers in more than 175 different countries.
Shopify’s success is largely due to its apps.
Ecommerce Marketplaces
You might be surprised by the size of all these statistics.
They are small compared to ecommerce platforms that dominate online shopping.
Here are some mind-blowing statistics about ecommerce.
Amazon
Amazon is one of the most well-known marketplaces.
Amazon is the top shopping app in America, with over 150.6 million users accessing it every month.
There are more than 300 million active monthly users on all devices.
What is the average spending of these people?
In 2021, Amazon will sell over $600 billion worth of goods.
They also ship more than 66,000 packages per hour and a total of about 1.6 million packages each day.
Amazon will be the third-largest company in the world by revenue in 2020.
Amazon generated 125.6 billion dollars in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Amazon Prime has more than 200 million subscribers as of 2021. One hundred fifty million of these are in the U.S. In 2020, Amazon’s subscription services brought in about $25.21 Billion.
86% of buyers said they would rather buy from Amazon than any other online marketplace.
Success is a result of the trust that Amazon and its customers have built.
Electronics is the most popular Amazon category. Electronics is the most popular category on Amazon. 44% of U.S. Amazon customers have bought electronics from Amazon.
Amazon receives about 2.44 billion visits per month to its online store and mobile app.
eBay was once the largest online marketplace.
Amazon has been a leader in the last few years. eBay is still a formidable force.
There are 187,000,000 eBay users in the world. The eBay app has been downloaded by 34.9% of U.S. smartphone users.
In the first quarter of 2021, eBay sold and bought goods worth $27.5 billion.
In 2021, eBay sold 87.4 billion dollars worth of goods.
The $87.6 billion figure for 2020 was slightly lower than the $89.83 billion peak in 2018.
eBay, despite being popular, appears to be struggling.
Wrapping it Up
There is no doubt about it…
It has never been better to launch an ecommerce brand and store.
These statistics show that as the pandemic ends, consumers will continue to shop online.
