Statistics are pervasive in our daily lives. We subconsciously consume a lot of statistics on an everyday basis, be it in business, sports, or the regular rigors of life (like when we all obsessively tracked COVID statistics during the pandemic). Weather updates, performance metrics of athletes we admire, personal budgeting, and financial management all revolve around statistics.
Like in any other business, statistics have always been vital to decision making in the world of ecommerce. It helps us understand customers' behaviors and preferences to make informed decisions.
In today's world, every click, scroll, and purchase can be tracked and analyzed. How you leverage that data will determine your chance of becoming a successful ecommerce company.
Here are a few ecommerce statistics businesses should consider while doing research. The specific metrics that are most relevant will depend on the nature of the ecommerce business and its goals.
1. Market size
It is vital to understand the size and growth of the ecommerce market. This includes the number of online shoppers, the total sales revenue of ecommerce businesses, and the expected growth rate of the market.
In the last three years (2019-2022), the number of people shopping online has increased by a billion! Of the 8 billion people on earth, 2.4 billion have shopped online at least once, that's nearly 30% of the world's population. By 2027, it is expected to touch 66.6%!
What do you make of this stat? Ecommerce is clearly the present and future of shopping.
2. Growth
The global ecommerce market is expected to total $6.3 trillion in 2023.
According to Statista, global ecommerce sales will continue to grow at a slightly slower pace over the next few years after an accelerated growth due to the pandemic through 2021.
Retail ecommerce: Retail ecommerce sales worldwide will grow by 8.9% in 2023. It is expected to grow by 9.6% in 2024 and 8.9% in 2025. In 2026, online retail growth is forecast at 8.2%.
By 2026, retail ecommerce sales is expected to reach $8.1 trillion USD worldwide. In terms of share, the online segment will make up 25% of total global retail sales.
Fastest growing markets:
Asia is likely to have the highest total retail ecommerce revenue in 2023, with more than $2 trillion USD. The second highest online shopping revenue would be generated in the Americas, at around $1.1 trillion USD. African ecommerce revenue would remain the smallest worldwide, at around $44 billion USD.
In terms of countries, Brazil, Argentina, and Turkey are among the fastest growing ecommerce markets.
Brazil ranks first in retail ecommerce development between 2023 and 2027, with a 14.6% CAGR. Argentina and Turkey are also among the fastest growing ecommerce markets globally, with a CAGR of over 14%. The global retail ecommerce CAGR was estimated at 11.3% during the same period.
The fastest growing ecommerce countries based on online sales are the Philippines and India, where ecommerce sales are forecast to increase by more than 25%.
3. Customer behavior
It is vital to understand how customers behave when shopping online. This includes metrics such as the average order value, the frequency of purchase, and the average time spent shopping.
One of the greatest benefits of ecommerce is that you can sell your products to anyone in the world. In fact, 57% of online shoppers are open to shopping internationally when they can't find a business that meets their needs.
Average order value
According to the 2021 data available on Statista's ecommerceDB, the US tops the list with an average of USD 109 per online order. It's $16 USD more than the global average.
Second on the list is Japan where people spend $106 USD on an average per order.
With $47 USD, South African online shoppers only spend about half of the global average on an individual online purchase.
Frequency of purchase
About 75% of consumers shop online at least once a month, while 31% of consumers have reported shopping online only once per month. According to a survey by Zippia, 20% shopped at least once per week.
Statista suggests at least 24% of online shoppers in India make a purchase every week.
4. Medium of shopping
Mobile commerce
Mobile commerce sales are expected to hit $415.93 billion, accounting for 6% of all retail sales in 2023. With 91% of shoppers making online purchases using their smartphone, it's important your website looks and works well on mobile devices.
While tablet ecommerce sales reached $61.08 billion in 2022, it is expected to reduce to $54.01 billion by 2026. The possible explanation could be the improved shopping experience on smartphones.
Social commerce
Analyzing social media engagement can provide insights into customer behavior and preferences, and into how to market to a target audience effectively.
The worldwide revenue of social commerce is valued at $724 billion USD in 2022 and is forecasted to surpass $6 trillion USD by 2030.
Over 80% of the online population in Thailand, India, and China buy on social media platforms.
Approximately one-third of global shoppers named Facebook as their favorite social commerce platform for online purchases in 2022, followed by Instagram with nearly one-fourth of respondents. These two platforms, both owned by Meta, also top the list of social networks offering the best social commerce experience.
In terms of buying preferences, the most purchased product categories on social networks around the world are apparel, groceries, and food delivery services.
Social media influence:
40% make a purchase because of social media influence.
49% of social commerce shoppers have had an influencer’s recommendation impact their purchase.
5. Payment methods
Digital/mobile wallets
By 2025, digital and mobile wallets will be used for 53% of ecommerce payment transactions worldwide.
Credit cards had a 21% market share in 2021 which is expected to reduce further.
In the Asia Pacific Region, digital wallets accounted for approximately 60% of ecommerce transactions in 2020 but amounted to only about 20% in Latin America.
6. Shipping and fulfillment
Understanding the shipping and fulfillment process is essential in ecommerce. This includes metrics such as the average delivery time, the shipping cost, and the percentage of orders returned.
Free shipping increases profits of 46.5% according to reports from small and mid-sized businesses. (MCM)
According to a comprehensive cart abandonment study by Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate across all industries is 69.89%. The percentage increases to a whopping 75% if it's a slow-loading website.
If you require account creation during the checkout process, 23% of people will abandon carts immediately, but the biggest reason for shopping cart abandonment is extra costs that are too high.
In a study by OptinMonster, mobile has the worst cart abandonment rate of all devices at 78%, followed by tablets (70%), and desktops/laptops (67%). The product with the highest abandonment rate is clothing (40%), followed by tech (18%), and home products (16%).
7. Customer reviews and feedback
Monitoring customer reviews and feedback can provide valuable insights into how customers perceive the ecommerce business and how to improve the customer experience.
According to a 2021 report by PowerReviews, over 99.9% of customers read reviews when they shop online. Furthermore, 96% of customers look for negative reviews specifically. This figure was 85% back in 2018.
8. Competition
The Chinese retail group, Alibaba, is the largest ecommerce retailer worldwide, with online sales valued at over $700 billion USD in 2022. However, US-based ecommerce giant, Amazon, will surpass Alibaba in estimated sales by 2027.
Key takeaways:
By 2027, at least 66.6% of the world population will shop online (5.29bn people). User penetration will be 57.2% in 2023 and is expected to hit 66.6% by 2027.
Retail ecommerce sales will reach $8.1 trillion USD and revenue will cross $5.70 trillion USD by 2026.
Sources for the compiled statistics:
Statista, Insider Intelligence's eMarketer, Forbes, Oberlo, Search Engine Journal