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.

This statistic depicts the international net sales growth of General Mills worldwide in 2023, by operating segment (compared to the prior year).That year, the net sales of General Mills' international segment grew by 30 percent.

This statistic presents the revenue growth of the Marks & Spencer group worldwide from 2012 to 2024. In the year ending March 30, 2024, the group's sales increased by a little over nine percent on the previous year.

Amongst the leading active apparel companies, worldwide sales of lululemon are forecast to grow by 14 percent over the twelve months following December 31, 2023. Sales of FILA are forecast to grow by almost eight percent.

This statistic represents the global sales growth of Fairtrade International in 2017, by product. During 2017, the global sales of Fairtrade Cocoa grew by 57 percent.

In 2022, global e-commerce sales grew by 6.5 percent compared to the previous year. In that period, e-commerce accounted for approximately 19 percent of all retail sales worldwide.

Asian countries lead the way

According to a forecast, China and South Korea ranked first and third respectively on the list of countries with the greatest share of retail sales projected to take place online in 2022. Following the same trend, estimates also revealed that the four fastest-growing retail e-commerce countries in the world are all in Asia.

Amazon on top

When looking at the leading e-commerce companies worldwide, as opposed to the leading e-commerce countries, Amazon is the clear market leader with a market cap of over one trillion U.S. dollars as of June 2022. Not only that, but the Seattle-based multinational company is also by far the most visited online marketplace in the world, with approximately 5.7 billion monthly visits.

The timeline presents the compound annual growth rate of retail sales in selected industries worldwide from 2012 to 2017 and provides a forecast from 2018 to 2021. Between 2018 and 2021, global duty-free retail sales were forecast to grow at a CAGR of 6.4 percent.

In 2020, global retail sales fell by 2.9 percent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, bouncing back in 2021 with a growth of 9.7 percent Global retail sales were projected to amount to around 27.3 trillion U.S. dollars by 2022, up from approximately 23.7 trillion U.S. dollars in 2020.

American retailers worldwide
As a result of globalization and various trade agreements between markets and countries, many retailers are capable of doing business on a global scale. Many of the world’s leading retailers are American companies. Walmart and Amazon are examples of such American retailers. The success of U.S. retailers can also be seen through their performance in online retail.

Retail in the U.S.
The domestic retail market in the United States is a lucrative market, in which many companies compete. Walmart, a retail chain offering low prices and a wide selection of products, is the leading retailer in the United States. Amazon, The Kroger Co., Costco, and Target are a selection of other leading U.S. retailers.

According to estimates, sales of the German discounter Lidl grew by 14.1 percent between 2018 and 2019. In 2020, the retailer's growth was at 8.5 percent. By 2026, net sales of Lidl are expected to grow at the rate of 3.5 percent.

In 2024, Kering's revenue decreased by two percent when compared to the previous period. Kering's global revenue was approximately 17.2 billion euros in 2024.

This statistic shows the net sales growth of Campbell Soup Company worldwide in 2022, by division. For the fiscal year ended on August 1, 2022, the global net sales of the company's Snacks division declined by 0.3 percent.

In 2020, retail sales in the United States were forecast to fall by 10.5 percent when compared to the previous year.Total retail sales in the United States amounted to 5.47 trillion U.S. dollars in 2019.

In 2023, revenue generated by sales of Spanish-language e-books in Mexico increased by 22 percent compared to 2022. Among the countries listed in the graph, Chile reported the highest growth rate, followed by Peru.

In the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, Walmart's global net sales increased by 6.1 percent when compared to the previous period. Walmart is a multi-national retail corporation that runs large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company runs 10,616 retail stores across the globe and operates under three divisions: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club.

Supply chain professionals from developing regions are generally optimistic about the development of cross-border e-commerce sales. In a survey conducted in early 2023, no respondents from the Middle East and North Africa or Latin America and the Caribbean thought that cross-border e-commerce sales would shrink in the following 24 months. In Europe, over five percent of the industry professionals surveyed said they expected international sales to decrease slightly or substantially.

This statistic depicts the sales growth of Herman Miller worldwide from 2014 to 2024. In the fiscal year 2024, Herman Miller's sales decreased by approximately 11.2 percent when compared to the previous year. The previous year saw growth of about 3.6 percent.

This statistic shows the year over year sales growth of the toy manufacturer Mattel worldwide from 2017 to 2023. With an increase of roughly 0.1 percent in 2023, Mattel's annual net sales remained approximately the same as last year.

In 2024, Guinness reported a global net sales increase of six percent compared to 2023. While still a positive change, growth was lower than in the previous year.

In 2023, the region that had the highest growth rate in market research revenue was Africa and the Middle East. The United States had the lowest growth rate of 3.6 percent, with Europe slightly ahead on four percent.

E-commerce was by far the biggest channel for growth of grocery products worldwide in 2019. In comparison, traditional grocery store grew their sales by only 1.8 percent and even hypermarkets, which include retail giants like Walmart, only grew their grocery sales by 0.8 percent in that year.