In 2023, global retail e-commerce sales reached an estimated 5.8 trillion U.S. dollars. Projections indicate a 39 percent growth in this figure over the coming years, with expectations to surpass eight trillion dollars by 2027.

World players Among the key players on the world stage, the Chinese retail giant Alibaba holds the title of the largest e-commerce retailer globally, accounting for a 23 percent market share. Nevertheless, forecasts suggest that by 2027, Seattle-based e-commerce powerhouse Amazon will surpass Alibaba in estimated sales, reaching a staggering 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars in online sales.

Leading e-tailing countries The Chinese e-commerce market was the biggest worldwide in 2023, as internet sales constituted almost half of the country's retail transactions. Indonesia ranked second with the highest share of retail sales online (32 percent), closely trailed by the United Kingdom and South Korea, exceeding the 30 percent mark. That year, the up-and-coming e-commerce markets centered around Asia. The Philippines and India stood out as the swiftest-growing e-commerce markets based on online sales, anticipating a growth rate surpassing 20 percent.

In 2023, the online channels' share of total retail sales reached 15.4 percent in the United States. This represented an increase compared to 2022, when it was 14.6 percent.

In 2023, retail e-commerce sales in the United States reached an estimated 275 million U.S. dollars, up from 142 million dollars in 2019. E-commerce's growth trajectory Driven by the escalating integration of technology into daily life, e-commerce has witnessed a remarkable surge in popularity. Projections indicate a significant uptick in e-commerce users in the United States, rising from 254 million in 2023 to over 316 million by 2028. As of the outset of 2023, apparel and accessories ranked as the most sought-after e-commerce product category, comprising over 18 percent of all retail sales in the U.S. This trend persists despite inflationary pressures, positioning this category among the e-commerce segments experiencing the most significant year-on-year price changes. M-commerce users demographic While the demand for the convenience of purchasing from the palm of one's hand is also rapidly increasing, various demographic factors influence mobile commerce usage. There's a higher proportion of male online shoppers than females, with a split of 53 percent versus 47 percent. Age is another determinant. Younger consumers exhibit a greater inclination towards m-commerce, with 46 percent of mobile shoppers falling within the 18 to 24 age bracket. Furthermore, income levels also shape mobile shopping habits, with individuals earning less than 25,000 U.S. dollars annually showing the highest propensity for mobile-based purchases.

Apparel and accessories was the e-commerce category with the highest share in total retail sales in the United States as of February 2023. 18.3 percent of all retail sales in the fashion segment were generated online. The category with the second-highest percentage of retail sales in the U.S. was furniture, at 15.7 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, office equipment and supplies had the lowest share of retail sales, below two percent.

The continuous rise of e-commerce

Online shopping is on the rise in the United States. The share of all retail sales in the U.S. stemming from online shopping has increased from 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2010 to a record-breaking 15.6 percent in the third quarter of 2023. Consequently, the sales of retail e-commerce have surged from 39 million U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2010 to more than 280 billion U.S. dollars in the third quarter of 2023. This boom is forecast to continue over the next few years, with the estimated revenue from online sales, including digital services, reaching 1.72 trillion U.S. dollars by 2027.

The king of e-commerce

In the United States, the number of online shoppers continues to grow. In 2023, there were more than a quarter of a million online shoppers, and the number is forecast to reach over 300 million by 2028. The most popular online shopping destination in the U.S., Amazon, sees a surge of shoppers during certain shopping occasions, which feature appealing bargains that encourage extravagant spending. In 2023, the biggest increase in sales occurred on Black Friday, with an increase of nearly 35 percent. Amazon's deal event for Prime members, Prime Day, saw 17 percent more sales. As for Cyber Monday, sales went up by 13 percent.

The revenue in the e-commerce market in the United States was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 657.8 billion U.S. dollars (+53.79 percent). After the tenth consecutive increasing year, the indicator is estimated to reach 1.9 trillion U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the revenue of the e-commerce market was continuously increasing over the past years.Find other key market indicators concerning the average revenue per user (ARPU) and number of users. The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

In 2023, e-commerce comprised over 15.6 percent of total retail sales in the United States. Forecasts suggest that this proportion will continue to rise steadily in the coming years, reaching approximately 20.6 percent by 2027.

Fashion fever

The digital revolution has significantly changed how retail is done, impacting a wide range of product categories. Out of all e-commerce product categories, apparel and accessories are the most purchased online in the United States. As of February 2023, roughly 18 percent of all fashion retail sales took place online. Furniture and home furnishing, as well as computer and consumer electronics, ranked second, with over 15 percent of each product category purchased via the internet. The product categories that are least purchased online are office equipment and supplies (1.4 percent) and books, music, and video (5.1 percent).

Shopping hotspots

Amazon dominates the e-commerce industry in the United States, though other competitors still have significant market share. In December 2023, amazon.com was the most-visited e-commerce and shopping site in the United States. That month, around 45 percent of all visits to e-commerce sites were made to Amazon. Other popular shopping sites include ebay.com, walmart.com, etsy.com, and target.com. The staggering proportion of online retail sales in the country attributed to Amazon is quite remarkable. In 2023, Amazon's website accounted for almost half of all online computer and consumer electronics sales. Similarly, nearly one-third of online fashion purchases in the country were made on Amazon.

In 2023, e-commerce sales in France amounted to approximately 160 billion euros. This represents an increase of nearly 10.5 percent compared to the previous year when online sales were approximately 144.7 billion euros.

Key players In the fourth quarter of 2023, Amazon emerged as the leading e-commerce platform in France, attracting an average of 39 million unique monthly visitors. Leboncoin followed in second place, with an average traffic of 26.7 million monthly visitors. Notably, E.Leclerc experienced a notable increase in average monthly traffic, signaling its growing prominence in the French online grocery landscape.

Fashion leads the way As of 2023, fashion was the most purchased product category online in France, and one player stood out in this segment. The Chinese fast-fashion company Shein ranked second after Amazon in the top online stores in the French e-commerce market in 2023, garnering an estimated 2.4 billion U.S. dollars in e-commerce net sales that year, racking up more online sales than the likes of Boulanger, Apple and Cdiscount.

Online retail sales in Colombia are forecast to generate more than 15.29 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. That represents an increase of over 360 percent in comparison to the 3.33 billion dollars in e-commerce sales recorded in 2018. Multimedia products correspond to one of the categories predicted to expand in terms of online sales in Colombia.

In the second quarter 2024, the share of e-commerce in total U.S. retail sales stood at 16 percent, up from the previous quarter. From April to June 2024, retail e-commerce sales in the United States hit over 291 billion U.S. dollars, the highest quarterly revenue in history. How e-commerce measures up in total U.S. retail In 2023, the reported total value of retail e-commerce sales in the United States amounted to over one trillion U.S. dollars—impressive, but the figure pales compared to the total annual retail trade value of seven trillion U.S. dollars. E-commerce still accounts for a mere 15.4 percent of total retail sales in the United States. Rising e-commerce segments Online shopping is popular among all age groups, though digital purchases are most common among Millennial internet users. In 2022, around 55 percent of Millennials purchased items via the internet. Mobile commerce is also growing in popularity, as consumers increasingly rely on their smartphones and mobile apps for shopping activities. In the fourth quarter of 2022, m-commerce spending made up 38 percent of the overall online spending in the United States.

In 2020, e-commerce sales via subscription surpassed 23 billion U.S. dollars in the United States, and they were forecast to be near 28 billion in 2021. By 2023, subscription e-commerce is expected to generate more than 38 billion dollars in revenue, more than double the amount registered in 2019.

In 2023, the Dutch e-commerce market was valued at around 35 billion euros. The Netherlands’ e-commerce market grew roughly three percent in 2023 when compared to 2022. That year, Dutch consumers spent roughly 33 billion euros on online purchases and orders. This makes the country the seventh-largest e-commerce market in Europe in absolute terms and online shopping made up more than three percent of their GDP. Consequently, around 365 million online purchases were made by 14 million buyers.

COVID-19 to increase online purchases further

Unsurprisingly, the use of e-commerce in the Netherlands increased since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. Survey information from May 2020 revealed that all product categories saw an increase in online sales during lockdown. Interestingly, this increase is believed to persist in the future once COVID-19 has passed. Dutch consumers especially show an intention to keep buying hardware and tools online, whereas fashion is predicted to stay at the same level as it was before the pandemic. Online medication and online grocery shopping are also to see an increase but are believed to still play a relatively marginal role in Dutch e-commerce.

Online performance of supermarkets

Before the coronavirus hit the Netherlands, its market size for online grocery shopping was believed to have stabilized at roughly one billion euros at the end of 2019. This according to survey results. The same source behind this survey revealed that the revenue generated by supermarkets online increased significantly to 2.2 billion euros as of June 2021.

As of June 2022, Amazon accounted for 37.8 percent of the U.S. e-commerce market, making it the country’s leading online retailer by a considerable margin. Second place was occupied by the e-commerce site of the retail chain Walmart, with a 6.3 percent market share, followed in third place by Apple, with 3.9 percent.

Amazon’s continued success

Amazon has long dominated the e-commerce market as the world’s favorite online marketplace. In 2022, company hit over half a trillion U.S. dollars in net sales. The United States is by far Amazon’s most profitable market, as the U.S. branch generated over 356 billion U.S. dollars in sales in 2022. Germany ranked second, with 33 billion dollars, followed closely by the United Kingdom with 30 billion dollars.

Online shopping on the rise

Online shopping has grown significantly over the past decade, with more people turning to the internet for their shopping needs. The proof is in the numbers: the U.S. e-commerce industry was worth almost a trillion dollars in 2023. By 2027, forecasts show that the online market will grow to more than 50 percent. U.S. online shoppers purchase fashion and food and beverages the most via the internet.

In 2019, retail e-commerce sales in Brazil amounted to approximately 25.3 billion U.S. dollars, and are projected to increase to over 31 billion dollars by 2023. According to estimates, e-commerce retail sales in Argentina will grow to reach more than five billion U.S. dollars by 2023.

In 2023, an estimated 14 percent of B2B sales were expected to be generated digitally. In 2020, the figure was 12.2 percent. Whether the purchase transaction is finalized online or not, online channels have gained relevance in the B2B customer journey. In the United States, two in three buyers use search engines for product discovery, and half of them browse online marketplaces. From product discovery to a revenue source Digital channels are going to be a key source of revenue for B2B companies based in the United States. By 2025, 56 percent of their revenue is expected to be generated online. Four years prior, the figure stood at 34 percent. As far as online channels are concerned, the use of third-party platforms is still limited in the B2B segment. In 2022, 81 percent of B2B organizations still invested in their website to sell their products and services. UX has yet to improve Poor user experience is one of the factors that pulls back B2B e-commerce growth – not just in the United States. In a survey investigating customer satisfaction worldwide, 23.5 percent of B2B buyers stated they had a very negative experience and another 14.9 percent of them had a somewhat negative experience when completing a purchase on a B2B e-commerce site.

To reach as many potential customers as possible, many e-commerce companies implement a multichannel selling strategy, which means that they offer their products or services via different platforms (online and mobile stores, apps, social media, among others). In 2020, multichannel online retailers generated more than 350 billion U.S. dollars in e-commerce sales in the United States. The figure was expected to exceed 575 billion by 2023.

Since 2020, the ecommerce sales of mass merchant Costco have increased significantly. In the considered years, online sales peaked at 17.47 billion U.S. dollars in 2024.

In 2023, retail dominated the e-commerce landscape in Latin America, estimated to encompass over half of the market share. Concurrently, the travel sector represented 13 percent of online sales, trailing behind ride-hailing and delivery apps, streaming services, and gaming.

Between 2023 and 2024, it is forecast that Amazon's share of total e-commerce sales in the United States will increase across all five featured product categories. Health and personal care will see the greatest growth, rising from 33.2 percent to 34.7 percent. The other categories include electronics, office items, clothing and home furnishings. With a market share projected to hit almost 50 percent in 2024, Amazon dominates the electronics online retail space in the United States.

Internet sales have played an increasingly significant role in retailing. In 2024, e-commerce accounted for over 17 percent of retail sales worldwide. Forecasts indicate that by 2029, the online segment will make up close to over 21 percent of total global retail sales. Retail e-commerce Online shopping has grown steadily in popularity in recent years. In 2024, global e-commerce sales amounted to over seven trillion U.S. dollars, a figure expected to exceed 10.4 trillion U.S. dollars by 2028. Digital development in Latin America boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, generating unprecedented e-commerce growth in various economies across the region. So much so that Brazil and Argentina appear to lead the world's fastest-growing online retail markets. This trend correlates strongly with the constantly improving online access, especially in "mobile-first" online communities, which have long struggled with traditioe-comernal fixed broadband connections due to financial or infrastructure constraints but enjoy the advantages of cheap mobile broadband connections. M-commerce on the rise The average order value of online shopping via smartphones and tablets still lags traditional e-commerce via desktop computers. However, e-retailers around the world have caught up in mobile e-commerce sales. Online shopping via smartphones is particularly prominent in Asia. By the end of 2021, Malaysia was the top digital market based on the percentage of the population that had purchased something by phone, with nearly 45 percent having made a weekly mobile purchase. South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines completed the top of the ranking.

E-commerce accounted for approximately ten percent of retail sales in France in 2023, decreasing slightly from 12 percent achieved during the pandemic. In 2023, e-commerce sales in France amounted to about nearly 160 billion euros.