15+ Mind-blowing Ecommerce Statistics [Updated in 2024]

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ECommerce is growing at an alarming rate and has had a big bounce during the last years, with the pandemic forcing people to discover new opportunities to browse and shop, because of different restrictions and shop closures.

According to the latest eCommerce statistics, in 2022 worldwide eCommerce sales are expected to reach $5.5 trillion—that’s huge, I know!

So, if you’re not doing eCommerce yet, now is the time to start! And if you are doing eCommerce, it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest statistics so that you can continue to grow your business.

Let’s start by checking the most fascinating facts and stats!

Mind-blowing Ecommerce Statistics

  • eCommerce sales worldwide are projected to hit about $7.4 trillion by 2025.
  • In 2021, there were 2.14 billion digital buyers worldwide.
  • In the US only, there were 256 million digital buyers in 2020.
  • By 2025, digital shopping is projected to reach 291.2 million online shoppers.
  • By 2040, over 95% of all purchases will be made online.
  • According to a survey conducted among more than 350 US Gen Z and Millennials, almost 62% claimed that they shop on their smartphones due to content material shared by influencers or branded social media posts.
  • By 2027, the B2B eCommerce market is expected to expand by 17.5% annually.
    Facebook was the most used online shopping platform with 51% in 2021.
  • In the last 6 months, 79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile device.
    Offering free delivery encourages 9 out of 10 people to buy.

That’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? So, let’s break down these eCommerce statistics by country.

Global Ecommerce Stats

1. According to eCommerce growth statistics, in 2021 eCommerce sales hit approximately $4.9 trillion worldwide.

Sources: (Statista) (Digital Commerce 360)

  • In 2020, the eCommerce market was worth $4.29 trillion.
  • In 2019, the figure stood at $3.46 trillion.
  • In 2018, eCommerce sales worldwide were worth $2.8 trillion.

The trend is unmistakable—as global eCommerce statistics demonstrate, the industry has skyrocketed in the past five years and is well set to continue to grow by leaps and bounds.

2. How many people shop online today? From the start of this decade, there are around 2.1 billion global digital buyers and the trend continues to be going sturdy in 2022.

Sources: (Statista) (Statista) (Oberlo) (Marketing Land)

  • In 2021, there were 2.14 billion digital buyers worldwide.
  • Digital and mobile wallets are the most popular online payments methods globally, with 44.5% as of 2020.
  • Offering free delivery encourages 9 out of 10 people to buy.

In case you were wondering “What is global eCommerce?”, you now have your answer. About 27% of the world’s population are digital buyers.

This is huge!

While some shoppers choose to make online purchases for the sake of convenience, others go for the competitive prices some eCommerce platforms offer. Why spend more on the same product if you can help it? It’s a no-brainer, really.

3. Digital commerce facts tell us China is the largest eCommerce market in the world, worth $2.78 trillion.

Sources: (Business) (Shopify)

  • The US is the second-largest eCommerce market, estimated at $843 billion.
  • The UK is the third-largest ecommerce market, worth $169 billion.
  • Japan is the fourth-largest ecommerce market, estimated at $144 billion.
  • 85% of the world’s purchasing power exists outside the US.

These are among the most unexpected ecommerce statistics in 2019. After all, most people assume the US is still the largest market in the world. But that’s clearly not the case when it comes to e-business.

Here’s the key takeaway:

If you want to make it big, you have to think globally. CLICK TO TWEET

4. As of June 2021, about 812 million people in China had purchased goods or services online.

Sources: (Statista) (eCommerce News)

  • 92% of South Koreans are online shoppers.
  • 87% of the UK population has bought something online.
  • 85% of Germans are online shoppers.

As these astonishing eCommerce stats and facts demonstrate, there are as many as 812 million Chinese online shoppers! Who knew? And while the average amount of money a Chinese buyer spends online is only a third of what his American counterpart does, there are a lot more Chinese customers out there.

What’s more:

Several other countries have higher online shopping penetration than the US. These stats shed ample light on the nature of the eCommerce global market. Along with the eCommerce site search statistics, we’ve done an article on online shopping statistics where you can find more interesting facts and numbers.

5. By 2040, over 95% of all purchases will be made online.

Sources: (Kinsta) (Statista) (Razorpay)

  • 43% of global internet users research products online via social networks.
  • 55% of online shoppers tell friends and family when dissatisfied with a product or company.
  • An epic 81% of customers do online research before buying a product.

It’s crystal clear that we’re living in a digital era, as these eCommerce statistics worldwide show, and the trend will only intensify. Thus, retailers are going to continue migrating online at a rapid pace over the next two decades until virtually all purchases are digital.

6. 76% of online shoppers want to buy products in their native language.

Source: (CSA Research) (Shopify)

  • 40% of online shoppers will never buy from websites in other languages.
  • 67% prefer navigation or content in their language.
  • 24% abandon their shopping cart because the site required them to create an account, according to cart statistics.

Even though English is the language of global eCommerce, it’s vital to localize customer experience. Offering regional and/or language-specific content, local currencies, and various payment options is absolutely crucial to running a successful online store in this day and age.

For example:

If you sell women’s shoes, size 7 in the US is size 5 in the UK, size 38 in Europe, and size 24 in Japan.

US Ecommerce Facts

7. The online shopping revenue in the US is projected to surpass $1.3 trillion by 2025.

Source: (Statista) (InsiderIntelligence)

  • Retail e-commerce market revenues from accessories and apparel sales in the US are estimated to increase to $295.7 billion by 2025.
  • With an approximately 25% increase in eCommerce sales year-over-year, Amazon’s fastest-growing category in 2022 is expected to be food and beverage.
  • In Q3 2021, the share of e-commerce in total US retail sales stood at 13%, down from 13.8% in the same quarter in 2020.

As mentioned above, US eCommerce statistics show the market currently lags behind the Chinese one in terms of total revenue. That being said, there’s plenty of room for expansion, and sales are expected to grow at a steady rate over the next few years. Great news for US online retailers!

8. In 2021, Amazon was the most popular online store in the US, generating $386.4 billion.

(Source: SageSeller)

  • walmart.com was ranked second, with $67.39 billion.
  • eBay was third, with $40.47 billion.
  • Apple was ranked fourth, with $35.3 billion.

It should come as no surprise that the behemoth that is Amazon is twice as much ahead of its online sales competitors combined. Ecommerce stats demonstrate that what started as a humble online bookstore has gradually expanded into the undisputed titan of the industry. And whereas most other companies on this list also have brick-and-mortar shops, Amazon is a web-only merchant, with 250 million reviews. How many of them are fake, you can find out here.

9. In 2020, there were 256 million US digital buyers, and this number is expected to increase to 291.2 million by 2025.

Source: (Statista) (GWI) (Oberlo) (FitSmallBusiness)

  • As of February 2020, millennials were the largest group of digital buyers in the US, accounting for 20.2% of online shoppers.
  • As of November 2020, 60% of both women and men in the US claimed that Amazon is their favorite online shop.
  • In 2020, 53% of online consumers reported that their likelihood of buying products online will increase if there’s a free delivery option.
  • Ecommerce statistics suggest that 42% of the US population in 2020 bought groceries online.
  • On the other side, In 2017 online shopping frauds grew at a rate of 30%, and this is twice as fast as the rate of eCommerce sales.
  • 75% of online buyers shop at least once a month, 24% shop once every two weeks, and 20% shop online once a week.

These numbers give us a pretty clear picture of the average American online shopper. Women represent 50.8% of the US population, so they’re just as likely to shop online as men. It should come as no surprise that nearly a third of US digital buyers are millennials, as they feel at home online.

What’s more:

They need to find the best online shopping deals on products and services if they’re ever going to be able to pay off those huge student loans!

Ecommerce Statistics for Europe

10. In 2020, the European eCommerce market was worth €575 billion.

Source: (Ecommerce News Europe) (Statista) (Eurostat)

  • This is an increase of 10% compared to the previous year.
  • In 2020, the highest expenditure on online purchases was in Germany, with almost €63 billion.
  • In 2021, the highest per capita spending for online purchasing in Europe was Denmark, with €2,916.
  • In 2021, 42% of e-shoppers made purchases for an amount from €100 to less than €500.
  • In 2020, more than 8 out of 10 internet users in the Netherlands (91%), Denmark (90%), Germany (87%), Sweden (86%), and Ireland (81%) had online shopping.

According to the latest eCommerce facts and statistics, the European market is experiencing robust growth in the most important countries like Germany, France, and Italy. However, you should keep in mind that there’s considerable variation across the continent.

11. From 2021 to 2025, the eCommerce revenue of the UK is expected to grow by 5.16% at an annual rate.

Source: (TheSocialShepherd) (Fashion Discounts) (Statista) (eCommerce News)

  • 89.7% of UK shoppers are expected to shop online in 2022.
  • In 2020, British online shoppers had the highest per capita spending at 1,020 euros.
  • Fashion and sporting goods are the most popular eCommerce categories in the UK.

According to the eCommerce stats for 2021, the market continues to expand, with a number of eCommerce events being held in the country throughout the year.

12. In 2020, the German eCommerce market was worth €83.3 billion.

Sources: (eCommerceNews) (Statista)

  • Debit cards were the most popular payment method in 2020, with 33% of transaction turnover.
  • A study from Deutsche Card Services argues the east-west difference in German online retailing has disappeared.
  • In 2020, Amazon.de was the leading e-commerce market in Germany, with e-commerce net sales of $15,836 million.

Even though Germany has the largest economy in Europe, the German eCommerce market lags behind the UK’s. One reason for that is the high return percentage. According to some eCommerce return rate statistics, roughly half of all orders get sent back.

And now that we know the state of the global eCommerce market, let’s look at some:

Social Media Ecommerce Statistics

13. 71% of online shoppers are more likely to make a purchase based on a social media referral.

(Source: Hubspot) (Neil Patel) (Statista)

  • Posts with 80 or fewer characters get 66% more engagement from the customers.
  • By 2025, the number of active social networking users worldwide is projected to increase to almost 4.41 billion.
  • “Question” posts get 100% more comments.

Social media is a gold mine for online retailers. Come up with some catchy, interactive content that tries to engage potential customers, play your cards right, and you’re likely to wind up with a windfall. CLICK TO TWEET

But what about specific social media platforms? Check out these amazing eCommerce stats.

14. More than 50% of marketers will increase their investments in Facebook, Youtube, and TikTok in 2022.

Source: (Hubspot) (Statista) (Sprout Social) (Digital Marketing Institute)

  • In 2021, Facebook (Meta) earned $114.93 billion in ad revenues.
  • 93% of businesses use Facebook for marketing.
  • 70% of teens trust social media influencers more than traditional celebrities.

In a nutshell, Facebook remains the undisputed leader of social media online retail. While younger online consumers have been migrating to platforms like Instagram for a few years now, Facebook still has the highest number of active users worldwide by a country mile. And they’re all potential customers, as small business eCommerce statistics confirm.

But Facebook isn’t the only major player in town:

15. 58% of Instagram users say they are more interested in a brand after seeing it in a Story.

Source: (Omnicoreagency) (Statista) (Meta for Business) (Neal Schaffer)

  • In Q3 2020, 36% of Instagram users in the US followed brands or companies on the platform.
  • 200+ million Instagram users visited at least one business every day.
  • 500,000+ businesses worldwide advertise on Instagram according to ecommerce sales by country.
  • 93% of marketers have used influencer marketing in their campaigns, and it’s considered a key advertising strategy.

While Instagram still lags behind Facebook by a considerable margin, it’s making huge strides to catch up with its older sibling.

Right now, the ad reach of Instagram is skyrocketing past Facebook’s. This year, Facebook’s global advertising reach only increased by 6.5%, while Instagram’s grew by 20.5%.

In fact:

Ecommerce stats show Instagram is already the most strategically important platform for influencer marketing. It’s also a major trendsetter with millennials, a demographic of crucial importance to eCommerce business owners.

And on that note:

Conclusion

Whether you already own a small shop selling tailored shirts in downtown Manhattan or you’re thinking about starting a brand new cider retail store in Vieux Montreal, you should definitely consider taking your business online.

You might be wondering:

“How much does the average eCommerce site make?”

The answer is—just over $150,000 in monthly revenue.

That’s the cherry on the cake.

And here’s the bottom line:

Online marketing and retail is skyrocketing, as the most recent eCommerce statistics make abundantly clear. The only way is up.

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