67 eCommerce Stats and Facts to Know in 2021

E-Commerce has altered the retail environment in recent years, accounting for a rising percentage of global consumer and company sales. As internet connectivity grows worldwide and people of all ages feel more comfortable purchasing large-ticket items online, eCommerce revenue is likely to grow.

As sales transitioned from brick-and-mortar to internet businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic expedited the transformation. Whether selling to consumers or other businesses, monitoring eCommerce stats and buying trends may help organizations perfect their sales and marketing efforts.

Ecommerce statistics assist firms in determining how customers spend their money and where they should concentrate their efforts. The figures in this article chart the market’s size and quick expansion, both globally and in individual countries. They also emphasize changes in customers’ shopping patterns, the factors that impact their decisions (all of which can vary depending on their age), and the difficulties they face while trying to buy online.

Statistics can also point to ways for businesses to improve their customers’ online experiences and increase sales.

General Stats of eCommerce

Lockdown orders during the virus outbreak boosted the already rapid move to online sales, resulting in a rise in eCommerce growth worldwide in 2020.

1.   In 2019, an estimated 1.92 billion people — over a quarter of the world’s population bought products or services online.
2.    According to eMarketer, global retail eCommerce sales increased 27.6% in 2020, owing mostly to the COVID-19 epidemic, to a global total of $4.28 trillion.
3.   E-commerce will generate more than $6.5 trillion in sales by 2023, accounting for 22% of global retail sales.
4.   According to Digital Commerce 360, a market research firm, consumers spent more than $861 billion online with U.S. retailers in 2020. That was a staggering 44 percent increase from the previous year and nearly quadruple the 15.1 percent growth.
5.   According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce’s share of total retail sales in the United States increased from roughly 4.5 percent in 2011 to 14 percent in the third quarter of 2020. According to Digital Commerce 360, eCommerce will account for 21.3 percent of all retail sales in the United States in 2020.
6.   B2B (business-to-business) eCommerce sales are also on the rise. The worldwide B2B eCommerce industry was valued at $5.7 trillion in 2019 and is predicted to grow at a rate of 17.5% per year between 2020 and 2027.
7.   According to eMarketer, China is the world leader in eCommerce adoption. In 2021, China was expected to have 792.5 million digital buyers, accounting for a third of the global total. Furthermore, it is predicted to witness about $2.8 trillion in eCommerce sales in 2021, accounting for more than half of the world total, making it the first country to have more than half of retail sales take place online.
8.   In 2020, eCommerce growth will be double-digit in all 32 countries analyzed by eMarketer. Latin America increased by 36.7 percent, with Argentina seeing an astounding 79 percent gain. Singapore’s growth rate was likewise high, at 71 percent.

Stats on Ecommerce vs Brick-and-Mortar

Ecommerce has exploded at the expense of brick-and-mortar sales in general. However, some traditional merchants are using online platforms to boost sales.

9.     According to Digital Commerce 360, retail sales in the United States climbed 6.9% in 2020 to slightly over $4 trillion, but eCommerce accounted for all of the growth for the first time in history. All other sales channels, such as storefronts, catalogues, and call centres, decreased.
10.       According to eMarketer, eCommerce growth will decelerate to a still significant 14.3 percent in 2021, partially due to the return of more sales to brick-and-mortar retailers.
11.      Given the advent of online transactions, customers still prefer face-to-face interactions. According to a Walker Sands survey, a quarter of consumers feel better connected to businesses when they visit a store. For clothing and apparel, 59 percent of consumers aged 18 to 25 said they prefer to go to a store.
12.       Due to the pandemic, several brick-and-mortar stores are effectively moving into internet sales. Walmart is the No. 2 online seller in North America for the first time in 2020, according to Digital Commerce 360, while Target is in the top ten.
13.       Many shops are also growing BOPIS (buy online, pick up in-store) transactions, which combine the benefits of having both a physical and an online presence. Nearly 70% of consumers in the United States claimed they had purchased numerous BOPIS products in 2019.

Stats on Ecommerce Shopping Carts

Customers leave online shopping carts before completing the checkout process, which results in many eCommerce transactions never being completed. Businesses may enhance revenue by understanding why customers depart.

14.       The Baymard Institute analyzed 44 research conducted between 2006 and 2020 and discovered that overall shopping cart desertion rate of 69.8%, with persistently high abandonment rates year after year.
15.       Most of these shopping cart withdrawals are unavoidable because customers are simply window shopping or price comparing. According to the same Baymard study, 58.6% of customers abandoned a cart in the previous three months as they were only exploring or weren’t ready to buy.
16.       Others, according to Baymard, abandon carts due to issues with cost, delivery, or website performance. 49 percent of those who abandoned their carts did so because of exorbitant shipping prices, taxes, or fees; 24 percent because the site required users to create a new account; 19 percent because shipping was too sluggish; and 18 percent because the checkout procedure was too long or confusing.

Ecommerce Statistics for Consumers

Consumers are fueling much of the global eCommerce growth. They’re becoming more comfortable making large purchases online, but they want speedy, free shipping and lenient return policies.

17.       According to Walker Sands, the most important factor driving consumers to buy more online is free and rapid shipping, followed by free returns. Many customers expect shipping the next day or perhaps the same day. In fact, 39% said that same-day shipping would encourage them to shop online.
18.       According to the same survey, 46% of consumers have become more inclined to buy an expensive piece online, such as a car or barbecue. Only those aged 18 to 25 (51%) and 26 to 35 (35%) had a higher percentage (56 percent ). A third of respondents say they’ve searched online for automobiles in the last year, and about as many say they’ve looked online for appliances. Larger, more expensive items with a bad reputation for in-store experience are experiencing the highest growth in online browsing and purchase.
19.       Another elevated category that people are increasingly purchasing online is furniture. It is particularly true for younger buyers: millennials (those born between 1981 and 1995), Gen Xers (those born between 1965 and 1980), and baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are all likely to purchase their new piece of furniture online.
20. The average usage duration was more than six minutes, and visitors viewed more than six pages each visit on the world’s most popular eCommerce and shopping websites.
21.    During the 2020 Christmas season, American shoppers spent approximately $201.3 billion online, up 45.2 percent from the previous year. During the “Cyber 5” — the 5 days before Thanksgiving & Cyber Monday every year users expect online deals — a rush of shoppers visited online retailers. On Cyber Monday, 56% said they shopped online, followed by 57 percent on Black Friday, 54 percent on Holiday weekend, 31% the day before Thanksgiving, and 24% on Thanksgiving Day.
22. Despite this, many customers face frustrating website issues. During the 2020 festive season, less than a third of the people stated their entire online shopping experience went smoothly, while 44% claimed their website was slow and 23% said their website was down, at least temporarily.

Statistics on Social Media

Social media is becoming increasingly crucial in eCommerce, either directly through purchases on social media platforms or indirectly through influencing customer behavior.

23. According to the Walker Sands survey, 13% of consumers would be ready to spend extra on a new brand or retailer if it was pushed by a famous person or digital platforms influencer they follow. Consumers aged 26 to 35 accounted for 22% of the total.
24. Instead of making purchases, most Americans use social media to discover and consider products. According to eMarketer, only 18.7% of customers used a social app’s checkout procedure to pay for their most recent purchase, whereas 57.8% completed their transaction on the retailer’s website.
25. In China, however, users spend considerable time on social applications like WeChat, which offer various services. As a result, according to eMarketer, China is predicted to earn $315.5 billion in retail, social commerce sales in 2021, which is roughly ten times the amount created in the United States.

Stats on Email Ecommerce

Marketers continue to rely on email as the main strategy for generating online purchases, and it appears that customers agree.

26. According to the Data & Marketing Association (DMA), email is used by 72 percent of marketers to attract customers, compared to 55 percent for social media and 35 percent for internet ads. To a lesser extent, consumers prefer to be reached by email (46 percent ).
27. Over half of customers in the United States indicated they prefer brands to contact them via email, opposed to only 25% who said they prefer brands to approach them via social media.
28. According to the DMA research, marketers in the U.K. believe that email marketing delivers a high return — roughly 35 pence for every pound spent, and they spent 18.9% of their budgets on it. The average return on investment for large enterprises was 44-to-1, compared to around 30-to-1 for small and medium businesses.
29. According to Campaign Monitor, recipients opened roughly 18 percent of marketing emails in 2020, resulting in an average click-through rate (CTR) of 2.6 percent. Only approximately 0.1 percent of the recipients opted out. The highest open and click-through rates were attained by nonprofits, government and political organizations, financial services, and educational organizations.
30. The day of the week you approach customers may impact the performance of your email campaign. According to Campaign Monitor, Fridays had the most emails open rates (18.9%) and the highest click-through rates (2.7%) in 2020. The poorest open (17.3%) and click-through rates were on Saturdays (2.4 percent).

Stats on Ecommerce Platforms

In eCommerce, software platforms are used to make it easier to create and run online stores. Integrating eCommerce platforms into business software suites may help businesses manage sales across many channels, covering everything from inventory management to order fulfilment to tax calculations.

31.     The world e-commerce software market was valued at $6.2 billion in 2019 and is expected to develop at a CAGR of 16.3% through 2027.
32. Many of the world’s business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce is supported by online marketplaces. According to Digital Commerce 360, the 100 best online marketplaces received a total of $2.67 trillion in global spending in 2020. Marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba, which account for 62 percent of worldwide online retail sales, are used by many firms to buy and sell.
33. According to Digital Commerce 360, U.S. markets were accounted for $773 billion in sales in 2020, with an average sales commission of 11%. Many prominent merchants are developing their marketplaces due to the rapid growth of marketplace eCommerce sales.

Stats on Mobile Ecommerce

Smartphones have surpassed desktops as the most popular devices for online shopping, yet some customers still believe the mobile experience is lacking.

34. From 58.9% in 2017 to 72.9% in 2021, cellphone eCommerce is predicted to account for 72.9 percent of retail eCommerce. New eCommerce marketplaces in mobile-first economies largely fuel this development.
35. Through one survey, 24 percent of customers indicated they shop on their phones at least once a week, compared to 23 percent who buy on a computer and 16 percent who shop on tablets.
36. According to a J.P. Morgan report, mobile eCommerce sales are predicted to grow at a CAGR of 16.5 percent through 2021. The development of higher-speed 5G mobile networks may enhance mobile commerce by offering a speedier buying experience.
37. According to the same J.P. Morgan report, buyers have been using mobile devices for $282.8 billion in purchases. More than half of all purchases ($156.3 billion) were made through a mobile app, with the balance made through online browsers.
38. However, many buyers still prefer to shop on their computers. According to one survey, while 32% of shoppers finished their shopping experience on a mobile device, 22% said they wouldn’t use a mobile device because the buying process is better on a P.C., and 46% switched to a desktop to finish the purchase or abandoned the process due to a bad experience or security concerns.
39. Within five years, 68% of businesses expect enhanced mobile chat apps to play a major part in online consumer marketing.

Stats on Conversion Rate Optimization

Increased conversion rate optimization (CRO), the percentage of web users who engage with your organization online and ultimately buy products and services, may be achieved by optimizing your eCommerce website to provide a better experience.

40. According to one 2020 survey, digital analytics, A/B testing (comparing the performance of two distinct versions of a homepage or site), user-experience design, and focusing on copywriting are the four most successful techniques to increase conversion rates.
41.  Nearly all CRO teams use A/B testing, and 38% compare its performance of more than different versions of a webpage.
42. During one survey of prominent eCommerce websites, testers discovered 2,700 usability flaws while completing their orders. According to the study, changing checkout design can raise conversion rates by 35 percent on average, resulting in the recovery of $260 billion in orders that would otherwise be lost.

Statistics on Customer Service

With the advent of ecommerce comes an increase in online customer service, allowing businesses to accommodate higher online sales volumes without hiring more people. However, trained humans will be required to answer consumers’ more difficult questions in many circumstances.

43. In 2021, customer-service interactions were expected to increase by 40%, owing to the rise of online commerce and mobile banking services.
44. Given the increase of Automation and artificial intelligence in customer service for chatbot discussions, automated answers, and self-service processes, 75% of customers prefer to connect with a live person.
45. According to Forrester, the $8 billion increase in customer support agent spending in 2020 is mostly due to increased demand for highly qualified agents who can earn higher compensation.
46. The customer expects brands to promptly respond to questions or concerns posted on social media. In the United States, 31% of respondents expect a response in less than 24 hours, and 24% expect a reply in less than an hour. Globally, the percentages are much higher, at 37% and 28%, correspondingly.

Stats on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The majority of buyers begin their search for things to buy on the internet. As a result, improving the SEO performance of your website is critical for increasing ecommerce sales.

47. Consumers start their shopping excursions by perusing the results pages of online search engines (SERP).
48. As of January 2021, Google still has a 92 percent market dominance in the search engine business.
49. The top result in Google’s organic search results has a 31.7 percent average click-through rate (CTR) and is 10 times more likely to earn a click than the tenth-placed page. CTR jumps by approximately 31% when you move up one slot in the search results, while only 0.78 percent of Google searchers click on a link on the second page of results.
50. In early 2021, the average Google.com user spent more than 11 minutes on the site and viewed nearly nine pages.
51.       In the first quarter of 2020, the median CTR for paid Google search advertising fell to 1.55 percent, down 44 percent from the first quarter of 2019.

Traffic, Patterns, and Behaviour in Shopping

Although the majority of all adult age groups in the United States currently shop online, younger individuals naturally lead the way. Buyers are increasingly more comfortable purchasing higher-priced things online rather than in stores. Free return policies are popular with customers, but they can be costly for vendors.

52. Digital purchases account for about 86 percent of millennials, compared to 78 percent of Gen X and around 61 percent of baby boomers.
53. According to Yotpo, 68 percent of millennials and Gen (born between 1995 and 2010) feel customer evaluations are essential when making online purchases, compared to 58 percent of all consumers.
54. What are the most popular online purchases? According to a Yotpo survey from July 2020, more people indicated they bought apparel and accessories online (85 percent) than every category of item in the previous year. Food and beverage (63 percent), cosmetics and skincare (52 percent), and home and garden (47 percent) were the next most popular categories (44 percent ).
55. Clothes and accessories were, unsurprisingly, the most commonly returned products. According to Yotpo, shoppers indicated fit difficulties (65 percent) were the most common reason for returning an item.
56. In 2020, companies were expected to pay $550 billion in return charges. Customers return online products at a significantly higher rate than in-store sales; therefore, merchants must figure out how to reduce return costs as the volume grows.
57.       Although many families have purchased smart speakers, significantly fewer utilize them to make online purchases daily. In 2020, a projected 30.7 million consumers in the United States will use smart speakers for shopping, but only 22.7 million will make at least one purchase via speech. It accounts for 11.1 percent of all online shoppers. And the majority of those folks are merely dabbling – only 2% of customers utilize voice shopping regularly.

Statistics on Payments

The majority of ecommerce purchases in the United States are still made with debit and credit cards, but the situation is different in other nations.

58. In 2019, mobile and digital wallet payments accounted for 41.8 percent of total online transaction volume globally. In the Asia-Pacific area, online wallets were the most popular, accounting for more than 58 percent of all ecommerce transactions.
59. Credit and Debit cards were utilized for 82 percent of online transactions in the United States in 2019, and debit cards were used for 42% of all online purchases. At least one online payment mechanism, such as PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle.

COVID-19’s Effects

When the pandemic arrived, brick-and-mortar stores were forced to close, and buyers adopted social distancing, ecommerce exploded. Many customers who began shopping online at that period may continue to do so in the future. Many things that were formerly purchased mostly or exclusively in stores, such as food and home furnishings, saw a significant surge in ecommerce sales.

60. According to Digital Commerce 360, the COVID-19-related rise in online purchasing led to an extra $174.9 billion in U.S. ecommerce sales in 2020, accelerating ecommerce growth by two years.
61.       As per the Department of Commerce, internet sales increased 31.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020 when adjusted for seasonal fluctuation compared to the first quarter. Online sales increased by 44.5 percent year over year in the second quarter.
62. Since the epidemic, consumers worldwide have boosted their mobile purchasing, and the majority say they plan to keep doing so in the future. According to a PwC survey, 60 percent and 58 percent of respondents in China and the Middle East are doing more shopping on their phones.
63. According to one poll of over 200 businesses, COVID-19 caused around a fifth of brick-and-mortar stores to open ecommerce stores.
64. Food and beverages outperformed all other categories in terms of ecommerce sales. As customers experimented with novel methods to dine at home, market research company eMarketer boosted its online food and beverage sales projection to $45.5 billion by 41.3 percent in 2020.
65. According to the PwC survey, 63 percent of respondents indicated they were buying more food online or over the phone than they did before social distancing restrictions were implemented, and 86 percent said they would likely continue to do so after the limits are withdrawn.
66. People spent much more time at home and relied on online services for work, school, or recreation, according to eMarketer. Consumer electronics ecommerce sales in the United States skyrocketed, totalling $179.4 billion — about 20% elevated than previously anticipated — as people spent more time at home and depended on online services for work, school, or recreation. As people spent more time improving their homes, furniture and home furnishings sales increased to $92.3 billion, up to $15.5 billion over the pre-pandemic prediction.
67. The pandemic’s effect on the travel sector, on the other hand, was devastating. In 2020, travel spending in the United States decreased by a historic 42 percent. Since most travel is booked online in advance, eMarketer cut its forecast for 2020 ecommerce sales in the travel industry by over $100 billion, to just $115.3 billion.

Ecommerce is swiftly and steadily changing B2B and retail sales worldwide. Many businesses rely on it for sales, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak. Keeping track of ecommerce stats can help firms figure out what customers are buying and how to enhance revenue.