In 2024, global retail e-commerce sales reached an estimated ************ U.S. dollars. Projections indicate a ** percent growth in this figure over the coming years, with expectations to come close to ************** dollars by 2028. World players Among the key players on the world stage, the American marketplace giant Amazon holds the title of the largest e-commerce player globally, with a gross merchandise value of nearly *********** U.S. dollars in 2024. Amazon was also the most valuable retail brand globally, followed by mostly American competitors such as Walmart and the Home Depot. Leading e-tailing regions E-commerce is a dormant channel globally, but nowhere has it been as successful as in Asia. In 2024, the e-commerce revenue in that continent alone was measured at nearly ************ U.S. dollars, outperforming the Americas and Europe. That year, the up-and-coming e-commerce markets also 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 ** percent.

In 2025, the number of annual online shoppers in India was estimated to be approximately *** million. This was a significant increase compared to the previous year. The number of shoppers is likely to increase to around *** by 2030.

According to a survey carried out in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 2022, ** percent of shoppers considered brands' sustainable business practices an important aspect in their online shopping experience. In turn, only ** percent of respondents from North America considered sustainable products very or somewhat important. A similar gap in the perception of business practices versus products was observed in Europe. On the contrary, respondents from Middle Eastern countries were much more interested in the sustainability of products, when shopping online from a brand.

According to a survey conducted across the Middle East and North Africa region, around ** percent of respondents in 2022 purchased products or services online. This indicated a growth from ** percent reported in 2018.

According to estimates, Amazon claimed the top spot among online retailers in the United States in 2023, capturing 37.6 percent of the market. Second place was occupied by the e-commerce site of the retail chain Walmart, with a 6.4 percent market share, followed in third place by Apple, with 3.6 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.

As of January 2022, mobile commerce accounted for nearly ********** (**** percent) of all global e-commerce retail sales. Asia Pacific exceeded this proportion, where mobile sales represented about ***** out of every ten digital sales. As can be seen in this graph, the use of mobile devices for online shopping was more prevalent in regions of the global south.

The number of online shoppers in Indonesia was forecasted to increase to ** million by 2022, from ** million in 2017. Indonesia, with a total population of more than *** million inhabitants, is one of the biggest online markets in the world.

From messenger groups to online shopping apps

Online shopping in Indonesia has changed significantly since its nascent days. In 2013, most online shoppers purchased items through messaging services such as Blackberry Messenger groups. Today, it has shifted to website and apps-based online shopping channels. Tokobagus.com, the most popular shopping website in 2014, was nowhere to be found on the 2019 most-popular list. As of 2019, the Indonesian brand Tokopedia ranked first among the most clicked e-commerce sites in Indonesia, followed by Shopee and Bukalapak , while Lazada, Shopee, and Tokopedia were the most popular mobile shopping apps respectively.

Quality and duration

Electronics and its accessories, fashion items, and groceries were the most popular products that were bought online in Indonesia. ** percent of the total e-commerce expenditure was contributed by online shoppers between the ages of 30 to 39 years. Most of the Indonesian online shoppers believed that doing an online transaction in Indonesia was safe. Their biggest concern was rather about the quality or the description of the product. The second most popular concern about shopping online was falling prey to scammers. According to a survey in 2018, the time taken to deliver an item is one of the main reasons to be unsatisfied with the service of some online marketplaces in Indonesia. It seems that logistics is one of the biggest challenges for the Indonesian market.

Indonesia’s e-commerce in the future

To encourage and educate the public about the convenience of online shopping, Indonesia introduced an annual National Online Shopping Day (HarBolNas) in 2012 that falls on December 12. This event was initiated by e-commerce companies in Indonesia and is expected to have an impact on the Indonesian e-commerce penetration in the near future.

In the second quarter of 2025, the share of e-commerce in total U.S. retail sales stood at **** percent, up from the previous quarter. From January to March 2025, retail e-commerce sales in the United States hit over *** billion U.S. dollars, the highest quarterly revenue in history. How e-commerce measures up in total U.S. retail In 2024, the reported total value of retail e-commerce sales in the United States amounted to over ****trillion U.S. dollars—impressive, but the figure pales compared to the total annual retail trade value of ******trillion U.S. dollars. 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 ** 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 ** percent of the overall online spending in the United States.

Between November 1 and December 31, 2022, online shoppers globally are expected to spend an estimated ***** billion U.S. dollars on holiday shopping. Cyber Monday alone is forecast to generate approximately **** billion dollars in online sales.

The effect of economic uncertainty on holiday shopping

In 2022, the twin evils of inflation and economic stagnation threaten to affect consumer demand during this year's festivities. In a survey conducted in August 2022, nearly a third of consumers worldwide stated that galloping inflation was their  prime concern this holiday season. Other issues like uncertainty about the global economy and lack of savings also came up as areas of concern. Since many people wait for the holidays to buy big-ticket items, these categories are forecast to witness the highest rates of e-commerce discounts, with e-retailers anticipating grim consumer sentiment to affect this year's peak season sales. Categories like computers and electronics could see double-digit discount rates that online shoppers can benefit from.

Impact of inflation on e-commerce

During the holiday season and beyond, the global macroeconomic outlook for 2022 is spelling bad news for e-commerce businesses across the globe. In the United States, that rapidly grew and thrived during the pandemic got hit by a wave of e-commerce layoffs that dealt a blow to the industry. One way consumers are dealing with rising inflation and economic uncertainty is by resorting to recommerce: In a May 2022 survey, around ** percent of U.S. shoppers reported that inflation impacted their decision to buy and sell secondhand products online in the past twelve months. The recommerce market in the U.S. is set to reach nearly *** billion U.S. dollars in 2022.

According to a survey, there is a correlation between consumer age and the prevalence of cross-border purchases. The data showed that the younger the consumer, the greater the likelihood of cross-border shopping. In 2022, six out of ten Gen Z shoppers (18 to 24 years old) had already made cross-border orders, followed by millennials at ** percent, Gen X at ** percent, and boomers at ** percent.

According to a 2022 survey on e-commerce consumers in Malaysia, the largest distribution of e-commerce users in the country belonged to respondents below the age of 20 years old, with **** percent. In general, the majority of online shoppers in Malaysia were Gen Z and Millenials.

According to a 2022 global survey, millennials were the generation that made the highest number of direct purchases on online marketplaces. Over the six months leading up to the study, around ** percent of millennials bought from marketplaces. Gen Z online shoppers secured the second position, with ** percent of them opting to order goods directly from this channel.

In 2023, livestreaming commerce sales in the United States reached an estimated ** billion U.S. dollars. Referred to as live commerce, shopping via online streams on social networks is gaining popularity globally. Forecasts indicate that by 2026, sales from live online shopping will grow by ** percent, making up more than **** percent of all e-commerce sales in the North American country. The global landscape According to a survey, frequent users in the United States attended fewer live commerce shows compared to China, Latin America, and Europe in 2022. U.S. consumers may not participate in as many live commerce events as in other regions, but when they do, they bring their purchasing power with them. The average annual spending per frequent live commerce user in the U.S. surpassed that of Europe and matched that of Latin America, highlighting the potential of this emerging trend. China, known as the epicenter of live shopping, continues to lead both in attendance and spending. Why livestream shopping? The increasing popularity of live commerce can be attributed to various factors. According to consumers worldwide, the main benefits of live commerce include access to exclusive discounts, inspiration, and ideas, as well as the ability to make smarter, more informed purchase decisions. However, livestream shopping isn't just about scoring great deals; it's also about having fun. Entertainment plays a significant role in attracting consumers to participate in livestream shopping. That is especially true for younger age groups, who value real-time interaction and personalized experiences, which Gen Z consumers see as a major advantage.

This statistic presents the number of online shoppers in Saudi Arabia from 2016 to 2018, with estimates from 2019 to 2022. In 2018, the number of online shoppers amounted to **** million, compared to **** million in the previous year. It was estimated that the number of online shoppers would experience a vast increase by 2022, reaching **** million.

It is clear that both in-store and online shopping have different advantages. In Q4 2022, around ** percent of respondents in Germany said that in terms of comparing prices and saving time, shopping online was better. In contrast, ** percent of respondents felt that shopping in-store led to better social interaction. Interestingly, although in many categories shopping online performs better, ** percent of respondents still felt that the better overall shopping experience took place in-store.

According to a survey by Rakuten Insight on online shopping behavior in India conducted in June 2022, about ** percent of consumers in the age group of 35 to 44 years, preferred e-commerce marketplaces like Shopee, Amazon, and AliExpress to shop online. In comparison, **** percent of the consumers in the 16 to 24 years age group chose consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplaces for online shopping.

In a 2022 global survey, nearly a quarter of Gen Z consumers said that "likes" or good comments through social media would increase their likelihood of buying a product online. The second most influential factor was click-and-collect delivery, with ** percent of respondents, followed by exclusive content.

China was the foreign country most U.S. online consumers shopped from in 2022. It accounted for nearly **** of cross-border purchases from the United States. In second place was the United Kingdom, with a ** percent market share, while Japan accounted for about ***** percent of the cross-border e-commerce market.

According to global consumers, the most important drawbacks of e-commerce are related to the product's physical properties or quality. Up to ** percent of respondents in select countries worldwide thought e-commerce does not offer the opportunity to touch or feel the items, which is a disadvantage of shopping online. The second main obstacle to e-commerce from the buyer's point of view is the inability to ascertain the quality of a product before purchase.

In 2022, Norway ranked as the Nordic country with the largest share of online shoppers, with a 92 percent penetration rate. In contrast, 88 percent of respondents in Denmark had purchased goods online. Finland was the least likely Nordic country to engage in e-commerce.