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, 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.

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.

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, 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 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 Sweden, the revenue of home electronics reached 27 billion Swedish kronor in 2023, being the best-selling B2C merchandise that year. The fashion segment followed with 19 billion Swedish kronor.

The leading country in the Nordics

The use of e-commerce websites varies by country in the Nordics. In the second quarter of 2023, the digital commerce traffic in the Nordics increased by nine percent on all types of devices. When it comes to online shopping from foreign websites, Sweden holds the highest percentage of cross-border business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce in the region. It is estimated that nearly half of Sweden's online shopping is done across borders. Sweden also has the biggest e-commerce market compared to other Nordic countries, as the country generated over 13 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2023. Norway ranked second, with an e-commerce market worth around 8.7 billion dollars.

COVID-19 pandemic fueled online sales

Over the last decade, the e-commerce revenue generated in Sweden was steadily rising until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. Online sales jumped from 87 billion Swedish kronor in 2019 to around 146 billion kronor in 2021. In 2022, the revenue dropped to 136 billion Swedish kronor. The dip in revenue could be explained by the market adjustment after the soaring online sales spike triggered by the health crisis. When it comes to the most popular online store in Sweden, blocket.se was the most visited site in Sweden in April 2023. However, apotea.se, Sweden’s largest online pharmacy, was the website that accumulated the highest amount of revenue.

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.

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.

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 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.

The e-commerce market in India is experiencing substantial growth, with the overall market size reaching 116 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. The segment with the highest market size was smartphones, valued at 35 billion U.S. dollars. This underscores the increasing significance of e-commerce in the Indian retail landscape, reflecting a shift in consumer behavior and preferences toward online shopping. E-commerce sector growth The e-commerce industry is experiencing fierce competition due to the presence of domestic and international companies. The e-commerce market size was estimated to be 123 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. This growth is fuelled by the increasing smartphone penetration, internet user base, and other favorable market conditions. Notably, the revenue growth of the e-commerce market has been consistently high, with over 15 percent as of 2024. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) market trends The e-commerce sector in India is witnessing a significant transformation. Especially, the D2C market is rapidly expanding and is expected to reach 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2025. One factor contributing to the D2C boom is the convenience of establishing online stores. Additionally, a great combination of major and mid-sized investors has supported India's D2C initiative. Over two billion U.S. dollars were invested in D2C brands.

Since 2020, the retail value of e-commerce in the United Arab Emirates has continued to increase by at least 500 million U.S. dollars each year. The biggest increase was recorded in 2023 when it jumped by 577 million USD over the previous year. E-commerce figures In the past decade, the value of e-commerce sales in the UAE has witnessed consistent, near-linear growth. When looking at the top ten fastest-growing e-commerce categories in the UAE , one can see the wide range of retail products that have benefitted from online sales, especially food and pet products. However, the leading e-commerce segments are still largely centered around recreational items, fashion, and electronics. The UAE retail e-commerce space Retail e-commerce has been a growing industry in the UAE, with many brands and retailers now bolstering their online presence. The market share of major online retailers in the country hosts a variety of local brands such as Noon, and international giants like Amazon. In March 2017, Amazon acquired one of the largest Middle Eastern e-commerce platform Souq.com, and rebranded it under its brand name. The Souq.com deal gives Amazon a growing and competitive space in the UAE retail e-commerce.

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.

Forecasts indicate significant growth in the e-commerce sectors of Asia and America in 2023. Topping the list are Mexico and the Philippines, poised for a surge of approximately 25 percent and 24 percent in online sales, respectively. Following closely behind, Malaysia secures the third spot with an 18 percent growth rate. Meanwhile, Argentina and Brazil were expected to outpace other nations, with e-retail sales forecast to grow by over 15 percent.

A growing global e-retail market Partly fueled by a rapid increase in internet users worldwide over recent years, along with mobility constraints and the shutdown of physical stores during the COVID-19 pandemic, the global e-commerce retail market expanded fourfold from 2014 to 2022. Central to this growth has been the widespread adoption of mobile commerce, which entails online shopping through smartphones, particularly prominent in various regions of the global South. Forecasts suggested that m-commerce sales in Argentina are poised to surge by around 2.4 times between 2022 and 2026.

Fast-growing markets fueled by local players While online retail giants Amazon and Alibaba Group wield global dominance in the e-commerce landscape, they do not hold the top positions in many of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets. Based on monthly website traffic, Singaporean e-retailer Shopee is the leading e-commerce site in Singapore by a significant margin. This trend is even more pronounced in Argentina, where Mercado Libre garners nearly 50 times the traffic witnessed on Amazon's Spanish page, amazon.es.

In the first quarter of 2025, online retail accounted for around 49 percent of Walmart China's (including Sam's Club) total retail sales. Walmart China's e-commerce penetration has remained around 40 to 50 percent since the second quarter of 2023.

In 2023, the total trade volume of the retail e-commerce market of China reached 15.43 trillion yuan. This indicated a year-over-year increase of around 12 percent.

In 2023, Saudi Arabia was the highest valued e-commerce market among the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, with a market size of about 8.7 billion U.S. dollars. United Arab Emirates came in second with e-commerce being valued at 7.5 billion U.S. dollars in the same year.

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.

More than half of retail and manufacturing companies surveyed in early 2023 made cross-border e-commerce sales, according to 56 percent of professionals surveyed. In addition, eight percent planned to sell online and ship abroad in the following 12 months. Only 36 percent of the companies surveyed did not operate cross-border.