Ecommerce Statistics

While the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted a lot of industries, ecommerce is not one of them — the global pandemic gave a boost to a sector that had already started gaining momentum. Online shopping, therefore, has become the preferred method of purchasing goods for many people. That’s why we prepared these essential ecommerce statistics to show you the evolution of this exciting sector and how it’s been growing both stateside and abroad.

Ecommerce Statistics (Editor’s Choice)

• Cyber Week 2020 saw $270 billion in digital sales globally. (PracticalEcommerce) 
• For 58%, the option to buy something at any time is a top reason for online shopping. (KPMG)
• 39% of Millennials didn’t miss shopping in-person during the pandemic. (Econsultancy)
• The GAGR rate of ecommerce worldwide between 2020 and 2024 is predicted to be 8.1%. (Statista) 
• India’s ecommerce market is projected to surpass the US and become the second-largest behind China by 2034. (ibef) 

General Ecommerce Stats

1. The US saw $60 billion in digital sales during Cyber Week in 2020. 

This marks a massive rise from the $1.93 billion spent during the period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday back in 2016. Ecommerce data further shows that globally, Cyber Week fetched $270 billion, while the number of customers surged 22% as compared with 2019.

(PracticalEcommerce, PracticalEcommerce, BusinessWire)

2. 70% of consumers wait a maximum of five minutes before abandoning a purchase and leaving the store if the website is slow.

Then, 57% of consumers cite price as the top factor in deciding which websites to buy from. Google meanwhile says 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they couldn’t access at first. What’s even worse is that 40% visit a competitor site instead. All these worrying ecommerce industry statistics are also behind the whopping 69.8% rate of abandoned online shopping carts. 

(RisNews, KPMG, TheGood, Hubspot) 

3. Customized landing pages can increase conversion rates by at least 25%.

A study by EyeView has revealed that adding videos to landing pages results in about 80% to 86% more conversions. Conversion rates of ecommerce websites meanwhile range between 1.84% and 6.25%. 

(McKinsey, SmartInsights, Adoric)

4. 75% of businesses struggle with optimizing their landing pages. 

The human attention span is only eight seconds and customers need to be hooked fast. Online sales statistics reveal that using correct testing methods can increase conversion rates up to 300%. Unsurprisingly, giants like Google have figured this out, since they used to run 7,000 A/B tests per year. Sadly, over 20% of businesses report not having an effective strategy for testing and optimizing landing pages. 

(Time, AdPushUp, Outgrow)

5. Millennials are 25% more likely than baby boomers to have seen their most recent online purchase in a physical shop first. 

52% of all consumers cite offline channels as their initial source of awareness for buying something. Also, online shoppers statistics related to ecommerce demographics show that almost 50% of millennials were more likely to have talked to a friend about their purchase and more than twice as likely to have seen someone else with it. 

Willy Kruh from KPMG puts its best: “Today’s consumer no longer goes shopping but is shopping, all the time and everywhere. And in a truly global marketplace, competition is no longer limited […]. Consumers can easily buy from retailers and manufacturers located anywhere in the world […]”.

(KPMG)

6. The option to buy something at any time is the top reason for online shopping. 

Regarding the general population, online retail sales statistics show that the number one reason voiced by most ecommerce shoppers (58%) for making purchases online is the convenience of buying something at any hour on any day. Next comes the ability to seamlessly compare prices (54%) and to find better deals and sales (46%). More customers prefer to buy something from a familiar place than those who like to often try something new. 

(KPMG)

7. For 61% of shoppers, a positive delivery experience incentivizes them to purchase from an e-tailer again.

According to global ecommerce statistics, 77% of consumers are at least conscious or even care deeply about the environment when thinking about how they receive online deliveries. 61% of consumers from the US also now expect free delivery while 68% from Canada want the same. At the same time, many are willing to pay for faster or more convenient shipping: 81% in the US and 69% in Canada for a one-hour same day, next day, or Sunday delivery. 

(DHL, Markets, MultiChannelMerchant)

8. 60% of the global population is online. 

The number of those who browse the internet globally rose from 1.58 billion in 2012 to 2.23 billion in 2014. What’s even more incredible is that 6.378 billion people, which translates to 80.76% of the world’s population own a smartphone. 

To put things into perspective, online shopping growth statistics show that in 2012 there were only 154.6 million online buyers (from 239 million internet users representing 75% of the population) in the US. Out of them, only 68.6 million were from mobile. Moreover, 90% of those who use the internet have an active profile on either Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, consisting of a total of 65% of all US adults. 

(DazeInfo, Wearesocial, AR-com, 220Marketing, SocialMediaToday, Elpomar, PewResearch, 220Marketing)

9. US retail ecommerce sales came in at nearly $438 billion in H1 2021. 

Ecommerce statistics show that this compares to $200 billion in the whole of 2013. In the second quarter of 2021, the number was upwards of $222 billion, beating the previous record of $203 billion seen in Q2 2020 just as global lockdowns were taking effect, forcing people at home. 

(Statista)

10. Internet video traffic accounts for 80% of the total in 2021.

Also, internet video traffic represents 80% of the total in 2021. This is compared to the 53.5% of the U.S. population and 70.8% of internet users who watched online video in 2012. 

(Ma-No, Cisco, eMarketer)

11. Email marketing boasts a return of $44.25 for every $1 spent.

A study by Marketo further shows that 64% of decision-makers read emails on a mobile device. Then, with this medium used by 95% of online consumers, e-tailers need to have their email marketing strategy optimized for mobile. Out of those, 91% report checking their emails at least once a day. 30% of consumers meanwhile read their email exclusively on mobile devices, general and ecommerce industry statistics show. Also, 57% of internet users claim they wouldn’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile website. 

(ZenMedia, immenswatch)  

12. Only 10% of consumers choose to receive company updates through social media.

As many as 90% meanwhile opt-in for email newsletters. In fact, email has been cited as being 40 times more effective for customer acquisition than Facebook and Twitter combined. 

On the other hand, the competition is also tough, since subscribers get 416 commercial messages per month, on average. Email audience grew from 2.41 billion in 2014 to 2.7 billion in 2017 and reached 3.8 billion in 2019. Globally, in 2019, 293.6 billion emails were sent per day and 306.4 billion in 2020.

(AspireInternetDesign, McKinsey, CampaignMonitor, Madrivo, Pardot, CampaignMonitor, Statista, Axongarside)

13. 70% of people always open emails from their favorite companies, ecommerce stats show. 

Moreover, email prompts purchases at least three times more than social media. These purchases are also 17% more valuable. Note, however, that nearly 45% of all marketing emails are opened on mobile. 

(MultiverseMediaGroup, McKinsey)

14.  The average employee spends 28% of their workweek (13 hours) managing their inbox.

They further spend nearly 20% of the time looking for internal information or tracking down colleagues who can help with specific tasks. Although there was a 20% decline in email usage in favor of social media between 2008 and 2012 when these mediums were new, email got back up in time. 

Even so, customer acquisition via email quadrupled between 2009 and 2013. These ecommerce stats were presented in a study of over 72 million customers and 86 US retailers across 14 different industries.

(Ciphr, McKinsey, Mivia)

15. Organic search brings customers who have 54% higher lifetime value on average.

This also suggests that the number one source for acquiring new customers in ecommerce is organic search (15.8%). In second place comes email, with 7% of customer acquisition and 12% higher than average customer lifetime value. Moreover, email accounted for 19.8% of all ecommerce transactions. Ecommerce growth statistics show that social media is way behind, amounting to less than 0.25% of new customer acquisition. 

(SearchEngineWatch, CXL, Act, Barillance)

16. 30% of businesses wish to grow their digital engagement. 

However, just 7% of organizations understand the exact value at stake from digital marketing. Then, just 22% of businesses are satisfied with their conversion rate optimization strategies. Each $92 spent acquiring customers translates to just $1 spent in converting them. Currently, A/B testing is the most efficient method for improving conversions. 

(WeareMindScape, ITProPortal, Transaction)

17. 39% of millennials claim they didn’t miss in-person shopping during the pandemic.

Ecommerce stats during COVID indicate that 33% of individuals from this generation had made a cross-border purchase. Moreover, a whopping 47% of global consumers have bought a product online directly from a social channel. Interestingly, there was also an incredible surge in out-of-stock items in the US between the pre-pandemic year and August 2021. As ecommerce markets as well as traditional ones suffered due to blocked supply lines, the number of out-of-stock items expanded by 172%, ecommerce sales statistics show.

(Econsultancy)

18. The GAGR rate of ecommerce worldwide between 2020 and 2024 is predicted to be 8.1%.

Currently, the total ecommerce retail sales worldwide are valued at $4 trillion. Amazon’s annual net sales meanwhile stand at $386 billion. Fashion sales are among the most popular, which are forecast to total $760 million, or about one-third of worldwide online sales revenue. 

(Statista)

Ecommerce Statistics Worldwide 

19. In Italy, revenue from ecommerce is projected to reach over $27 million in 2021.

Ecommerce facts show that the revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.02% between 2021 and 2025. The largest segment is, of course, fashion, which has a projected market volume of $7,59 million in 2021. 

(Statista)

20. In 2020, ecommerce sales increased by around 8% in India.

What’s astounding is that this market is projected to overpass the US by 2034, becoming the second-largest, trailing behind China. Ecommerce statistics for India project total sales reaching $111.40 billion by 2025, up from $46.20 billion in 2020, growing at a 19.24% CAGR. Despite the slowdown in global ecommerce sales caused by the ongoing pandemic, the market in India continued to grow at a steady pace of about 5%, expecting sales of $56.6 billion in 2021. 

(ibef)

21. In 2021 in Canada, retail sales of physical products amounted to $29.9 billion.

By 2025, the figure is expected to surge to $40.3 billion. The biggest store in the country is, of course, amazon.ca. This site alone had total revenue of $7.1 billion in 2020. Next comes walmart.ca with $3.2 billion, and costco.ca with $1.6 billion. Ecommerce statistics for Canada indicate that these three shops alone account for 40% of the online revenue in the country. 

(Statista, EcommerceDB)

22. New Zealand is the 39th largest ecommerce market in the world. 

In 2020, Aotearoa boasted earnings from online sales worth a grand total of $4 billion, placing it right over Malaysia and behind Portugal in the global rankings. Surprisingly, amazon.com is not the number one store, but it is behind countdown.co.nz, which had total revenue of $468 million. 

(EcommerceDB)

23. In 2019, ecommerce sales in the United Kingdom reached £693 billion (~$926 billion).

Out of those, $197.1 billion came from B2B sales only. There is much more space to grow since just 19% of retail sales come from online channels. Ecommerce statistics for the UK predict a growth rate of internet shopping of 34.5% until 2023. 

(Statista)

24. 85% of German citizens have shopped online during 2020. 

Within the same year, ecommerce worldwide trends point out that in Germany alone, the total value of online sales was €83 billion ($95 billion). The majority of German consumers (41%) prefer to use e-wallets to shop online, but invoice (22%) is also a popular payment method, as well as card (12%), direct debit (8%), online transfer (7%), debit card (4%), and mobile payment wallets (3%), among others.

(EcommerceNews)

25. In 2020, ecommerce represented 2% of Australia’s GDP. 

Consumers Down Under spent a whopping $50.46 billion that year on online shopping. Ecommerce statistics for Australia further tell us that 9.1 million households bought something via the internet in 2021. 

(TakeTumble)

26. There are 100 million ecommerce users in Japan.

It’s expected that by 2025, 13 million more consumers will shop online in Japan. Currently, 74.1% of the population purchase online. Across all categories, the total revenue registered is $112 billion and is projected to reach $143 billion by 2025. The most popular niches are toys, hobbies, DIY, electronics and media, and food. 

(ESW)

27. The Singapore ecommerce market is $4.9 billion. 

Ecommerce sales worldwide are booming in the latest years and Singapore is no exception. The yearly projected growth rate of the industry in Lion City is 8.35%. Ecommerce statistics for Singapore reveal that, on average, local shoppers spend $1,456 online every year. 

(Heysara)

28. The largest online commerce market in the world is China. 

In 2020, this market had an increase of 26% while the worldwide one expanded by 29%. The biggest player in Chinese ecommerce is jd.com. This store recorded sales of over $82 billion. Next comes suning.com with $21.5 billion revenue and vip.com with $14 billion. 

(EcommerceDB)

29. The Malaysian ecommerce market expanded by 24.7% in 2021. 

By 2024, it’s expected to reach $12.6 billion, after growing at a CAGR of 14.3%. Ecommerce statistics for Malaysia indicate that 80% of the country’s population are active internet users. The Land Below the Wind also has great mobile penetration, recording 84.2%. In January 2021, there were 28 million Malaysians on social media and 39.9 million mobile connections. 

(Trade)

30. Indian ecommerce will reach 8% of the total food, grocery, apparel, and consumer electronics trade in 2025. 

Also, the online shopping market of this country is expected to be worth a grand total of $111.4 billion by 2025, expanding tremendously from $46.2 billion in 2020. This sector is so hot right now in India that some projections even have it overtake the US by 2034.

(Ibef)

31. The ecommerce revenue in the Philippines in 2020 was $3.55 billion. 

Based on market shares, the leading ecommerce segment in the Philippines is represented by airlines and hotels. 87.5% of mobile internet users from the country use shopping apps. Ecommerce statistics for the Philippines also reveal that 26% of small businesses prioritize delivering better customer experiences for their online customers.

(Statista)

32. The online store with the biggest revenue in Kenya is mydawa.com which recorded $6 million in sales in 2020. 

The ecommerce market in this country had a stunning increase of no less than 66% in 2020. It’s one of the hottest markets in the world and will, most likely, continue to experience incredible growth going forward, ecommerce growth stats for Kenya show. Unfortunately, the current internet penetration in the country is just 24% but it will continue to grow at a rapid pace, as well. 

(EcommerceDB)

33. South Africa had total revenue of $4 billion from ecommerce in 2020 and it is the 37th largest market worldwide.

That year, the online shopping market from the country grew by 29%. The biggest players on the market are takealot.com which recorded $451 million in revenues, superbalist.com with $69 million, and woolworths.co.za with $51 million. Ecommerce stats for South Africa indicate that 15% of the total ecommerce sales in the country happened on the top three sites. 

(EcommerceDB)

34. Nigeria is the 35th largest market for ecommerce. 

This is another country with stunning growth in recent years, recording an expansion of 42% in 2020 alone. The biggest player in the market is slot.ng with revenues of $6 million, followed by ajebomarket.com ($4 million), and chrisvicall.com ($3 million).

(EcommerceDB)

The Bottom Line 

We’re in the midst of a new age of trade, as ecommerce statistics have revealed. Sellers more than ever can personalize their services to the customer and deliver quality shopping experiences that are accessible, quick, and enjoyable. 

Sources: Practical Ecommerce; KPMG; Econsultancy; Statista; IBEF; Business Wire; RIS News; KPMG; The good; Hubspot; McKinsey; Smart Insights; Adoric; Time; Adpush; Outgrow; DHL; Markets; Multi Channel Merchant; Daze Info; Wear Social; AR-COM; 220Marketing; Social Media Today; El Pomar; Statista; Ma No; Cisco; Slideshare; Zen Media; IMN News; Aspire Internet Design; Campaign Monitor; Madrivo; Pardot; Campaign Monitor; Statista; Axon Garside; Multiverse Media Group; Ciphr; McKinsey; Miva; Search Engine Watch; CXL; Act-on; Barilliance; Wear Mindscape; IT Pro Portal; Transaction; Statista; Statista; Ecommerce DB; Statista; Ecommerce News; Take a Tumble; ESW; Hey Sara; Ecommerce DB; Trade.gov; Statista; Ecommerce DB