9 Mind-Blowing Worldwide Ecommerce Statistics

eCommerce StatisticsThis is an in-depth research about eCommerce statistics.

In this research, you’re going to find:

  • How many eCommerce sites are there in the world?
  • What is the market size of eCommerce sales in the world?
  • How many people shop online?
  • Why do people shop online?
  • Which countries have the largest eCommerce market?
  • And much more…

Let’s get right into it.

Summary: eCommerce Statistics

Here are the most important statistics on eCommerce you need to know:

  • There are over 26 million eCommerce sites across the entire globe, with more and more being created every single day.
  • There are more than 9.5 million eCommerce sites in the US alone, with more and more being created every single day.
  • In 2021, retail e-commerce sales amounted to approximately 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars worldwide.
  • Mobile e-commerce sales reached $3.56 trillion in 2021, an increase of 15.2% over the previous year.
  • In 2021, there were 2.14 billion digital buyers. That makes 27.6% of the 7.74 billion people in the world.
  • The #1 reason people shop online is the free shipping option offered by eCommerce stores.
  • The top 10 largest eCommerce markets in the world are:
    • China: $2,779 billion
    • USA: $843 billion
    • United Kingdom: $169 billion
    • Japan: $144 billion
    • South Korea: $121 billion
    • Germany: $102 billion
    • France: $80 billion
    • India: $68 billion
    • Canada: $44 billion
    • Spain: $37 billion
  • Average conversion rates across eCommerce businesses were at 1.53%.
  • 69.57% of shopping carts are abandoned.
  • High extra costs are the #1 reason shoppers abandon carts.
  • Shopify is the #1 most popular eCommerce site-building technology taking more than 15% of the market share with almost 4 million sites using it.

eCommerce Statistics: Top Findings

Here are the main facts and stats we found about eCommerce.

1. How Many eCommerce Sites Are There in the World?

Global Growth of eCommerce Sites by Year

There are over 26 million eCommerce sites across the entire globe, with more and more being created every single day.

According to our latest research, there are currently more than 26 million eCommerce sites worldwide.

Year Stores YoY Growth
2022 26.2 million 39%
2021 19.8 million 204%
2020 9.7 million 5.4%
2019 9.2 million

In 2021 and 2022, the growth of eCommerce sites in the world experienced just an incredible explosion.

In 2021 alone, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of eCommerce sites in the world has doubled (204% YoY growth).

If by 2020 there were only 9.7 million eCommerce sites in the world, in 2021, it has already counted more than 19.8 million sites.

This means that the number of eCommerce sites in the world has doubled in 2021 alone.

1.1 How Many eCommerce Sites Are There in the US?

Growth of eCommerce Sites by Year in the US

There are more than 9.5 million eCommerce sites in the US alone, with more and more being created every single day.

That’s as much as 36.3% of all eCommerce sites in the world.

Year Stores YoY Growth
2022 9.5 million 10.4%
2021 8.6 million 30.3%
2020 6.6 million 83.3%
2019 3.6 million

Our analysis showed that between 2019 and 2022, the number of eCommerce sites in the U.S. market grew from 3.6 million to 9.5 million. And that’s almost a 3x increase.

In 2020 alone, the number of eCommerce sites in the US market grew by 86%.

2. What Is the Market Size of eCommerce Sales in the World?

Global eCommerce Sales Growth From 2014 to 2025

In 2021, retail e-commerce sales amounted to approximately 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars worldwide.

This number is expected to continue growing over the next few years, proving that eCommerce is becoming an increasingly lucrative option for businesses.

This figure is forecast to grow by 50% over the next four years, reaching about 7.4 trillion dollars by 2025.

2.1 What Is the Market Size of Mobile eCommerce Sales in the World?

Total Mobile eCommerce Sales from 2016 to 2021

Mobile e-commerce sales reached $3.56 trillion in 2021, an increase of 15.2% over the previous year.

By 2025, mobile eCommerce sales should more than double to reach $7.28 trillion and account for 44.2% of retail eCommerce sales in the US.

Worldwide, e-commerce growth is primarily being driven by consumers using their mobile devices, phones, and tablets, to acquire goods and services.

3. How Many People Shop Online?

How Many People Shop Online

In 2021, there were 2.14 billion digital buyers. That makes 27.6% of the 7.74 billion people in the world.

The number of online shoppers has been growing over the past few years.

In 2020, there were 2.05 billion online shoppers while in 2020 this number increased to 2.14 billion —a 4.4% year-over-year increase.

This number isn’t only rising rapidly but also over the years is expected to continue doing so.

3.1 How Many People Shop Online in the United States?

In 2020, there were a total of 256 million digital buyers in the United States.

The number of people shopping online in the US is set to continue growing. This figure is projected to increase to 291.2 million online buyers in 2025.

The most popular online shopping categories in the United States include fashion, and electronics & media.

4. Why Do People People Shop Online?

Top Reasons People Shop Online

The #1 reason people shop online is the free shipping option offered by eCommerce stores.

More than half (50.7%) of consumers list it as one of the main reasons they shop online.

Other key reasons include the ability to use coupons and apply discounts (41%), read other customers’ reviews (35%), easily return their items (33%), and have a quick checkout process (30%).

5. Which Countries Have the Largest eCommerce Markets?

eCommerce Sales by Country

The top 10 largest eCommerce markets in the world are:

  • China: $2,779 billion
  • USA: $843 billion
  • United Kingdom: $169 billion
  • Japan: $144 billion
  • South Korea: $121 billion
  • Germany: $102 billion
  • France: $80 billion
  • India: $68 billion
  • Canada: $44 billion
  • Spain: $37 billion

China is responsible for 52.1% of all eCommerce sales worldwide.

Not only does China have the biggest portion of global eCommerce size and sales, but it also has quite a dominant leader as the largest eCommerce market in the world.

The US eCommerce market size is at $843.15 billion — less than a third of that of China.

6. What Is the Average eCommerce Conversion Rate?

What Is the Average eCommerce Conversion Rate

According to the latest data, average conversion rates across eCommerce businesses were at 1.53%.

This number has decreased by 0.41 percentage points compared to a year ago.

7. What Is the Average Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate?

What Is the Average Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate

According to the latest data, 69.57% of shopping carts are abandoned.

In other words, nearly eight out of every ten online shopping baskets are ditched without the purchase process being completed.

According to the data, the average eCommerce site sees an 80% cart abandonment rate, with the highest cart abandonment coming from mobile devices and social media.

8. What Are the Main Reasons for Abandonments During Checkout?

What Are the Main Reasons for Abandonments During Checkout

High extra costs are the #1 reason shoppers abandon carts.

The latest study of reasons for abandonment found that 58.6% of US online shoppers have abandoned a cart within the last 3 months because “I was just browsing / not ready to buy”.

Most of these will abandon even before they initiate the checkout flow. However, if we segment out this “just browsing” segment, and instead look at the remaining reasons for abandonment we get that 48% of shoppers abandon because of extra costs and 24% because they were forced to create an account.

9. What Are the Most Popular eCommerce Platforms in the World?

The Biggest eCommerce Site Builders by Market Share

Shopify is the #1 most popular eCommerce site-building technology taking more than 15% of the market share with almost 4 million sites using it.

Rank Technology Websites Market Share
1. Shopify 3,986,100 15.23%
2. WooCommerce 3,624,600 13.85%
3. SquareSpace eCommerce 1,241,300 4.74%
4. Ecwid 928,800 3.55%
5. OpenCart 457,800 1.75%
6. PrestaShop 317,600 1.21%
7. Zen Cart 197,900 0.76%
8. Magento 189,100 0.72%
9. Weebly eCommerce 147,800 0.56%
10. BigCommerce 53,000 0.20%

WooCommerce and Squarespace eCommerce hold 13.85% and 4.74% respectively.

All other platforms account for just over 62% of the market.

References:

Scroll to Top