From the way we network, to the way we get our news — we’re slowly but surely moving everything online. And shopping is no exception. In the past few decades, online shopping has gone from being non-existent to becoming a multibillion-dollar industry. Buying things online has become a common practice among millions of people around the world and with the emergence of concepts like live video shopping, the number of people buying goods and services online has increased more than ever before.
One of the reasons why online shopping has grown so much over the years is because of the experience that businesses are able to provide to their customers. And the pandemic has only increased the number of online shoppers. We’re constantly seeing businesses add new features and services for online shoppers, with the intent of providing them the same support and comfort that they would have during an in-person shopping experience. Especially, features like live online shopping have made customers shopping online feel like they’re shopping in person.
With consumers increasingly relying on online shopping — it is estimated that 95% of purchases will be made online by 2040 — ecommerce is opening the doors of opportunity to countless entrepreneurs. And, those e-commerce sales opportunities are rapidly growing.
So, whether you’re an avid shopper and love browsing and shopping online, or you’re a retailer and have your own online store or are interested in opening one, these statistics will be interesting for you to know. Let’s dive in!
1. In 2018, an estimated 1.8 billion people worldwide purchased goods online (Statista, 2018). In the same year, global e-retail sales amounted to $2.8 trillion. If that isn’t enough to blow you away, projections show that global e-retail sales are going to grow to up to $4.8 trillion by 2021.
2. 63 percent of shopping occasions begin online. This means that no matter where customers are finally making the purchase (online or in a brick-and-mortar store), their customer journey is starting online — in most cases on Google or Amazon, where they’re doing their research.
3. Nearly half of the consumers shop more on mobile. It’s no secret that mobile shopping has been on the rise. If you plan on running a successful ecommerce website, you can’t afford to ignore mobile users and mobile shopping. Consumers are using their mobile devices for all steps of the buyer journey, and that includes various online shopping activities.
4. Chinese platform Taobao is the biggest online marketplace, with a GMV of $515 billion. To put this statistic into perspective, the top online marketplaces in the world sold $1.66 trillion in 2018. Marketplace sites like those operated by Alibaba, Amazon, and eBay accounted for more than 50 percent of global web sales in 2018.
5. eWallet is the preferred payment method among online shoppers worldwide. More than 42 percent of online shoppers paid using this method. Following behind in second place are credit cards, and debit cards as the third most popular payment method.
6. Shoppers expect to see new products constantly. It comes as no surprise that the needs of shoppers are constantly growing. Online shoppers are in demand of new products constantly. In fact, 75 percent of consumers’ search queries each month are brand new. This goes to show that when people are browsing online, they’re actively searching for new products. To add to that, 69 percent of consumers say it’s important or very important to see new merchandise each time they visit a store or shopping site.
7. 62 percent of online buyers shop at least once per month. In addition to that 26 percent of online shoppers shop online once a week, and 3 percent claim to shop once a day. With so many people shopping online regularly, or looking for products to buy online, shoppers find themselves in a state of indecision. Around half of the online shoppers (46 percent) have failed to complete a purchase online because there were too many options to choose from.
8. 63 percent of cart abandonments are due to extra costs for shipping. Abandoned carts are a nightmare for any retailer or online store owner. Other reasons include discount codes not working, orders taking a long time to ship, and other reasons such as having to re-enter credit card information, or shipping information.
9. E-commerce sales are predicted to hit $6.5 trillion by 2023. If this trend maintains its trajectory, e-commerce sales could potentially reach $8 trillion per year by 2025. This is great news for digital brands and shows just how much opportunity there is. Although the level of competition will certainly increase, so will the revenue.
10. Search and navigation are the most important site element for online shoppers. Recent data found that making products easy to find through simple search and navigation was the most important attribute of the online shopping experience for 61 percent of shoppers.
It’s an exciting time for e-commerce, and these online shopping statistics offer a snapshot of the current state of things. There’s no doubt that online shopping and live online shopping are evolving with every passing day and in the coming years, we’ll see further development. Retail statistics say it clearly — customers want to have it all. They’re not saying goodbye to good old mall shopping, but they still want their shopping experience to evolve.
For retailers, strong estimated growth in ecommerce means that even if your brick-and-mortar business is able to ignore it now, by 2021, you’re going to be struggling if you refuse to adapt to the evolving purchasing behaviours in a world increasingly dependent on mobile devices.
