90+ Online retail industry statistics 2021 [Research Review]

Posted on 01 November, 2023 by Nicholas Rizzo

Though the global retail industry saw a slight decrease in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, one segment, the online retail industry saw significant growth because of stay-at-home mandates.

We have reviewed 28 sources to highlight some of the recent changes in consumer behavior and the overall online market growth.

The global online retail industry

  • The global sales from e-commerce sites increased by 27.6% from 2019 to 2020, reaching $4.3 trillion, and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.3%, hitting $5.4 trillion by 2022
  • Online sales account for 18% of the total global retail sales in 2020
  • The countries that contributed to the increase in global e-commerce transactions include:
    • Argentina - 79%
    • Singapore - 71.1%
    • Spain - 36%
    • Brazil - 35%
    • UK - 34.7%
  • By the end of 2021, the number of people who buy from online stores will reach 2.14 billion, an increase of 29% from 1.66 billion in 2016
  • Turkey is projected to have the highest CAGR of 14.6% for online retail sales from 2021 to 2025 followed by:
    • Argentina - 12.8%
    • Indonesia - 10.2%
    • South Africa - 10%
    • India - 9.6%
    • Brazil - 7.2%

North America

In the first quarter of 2021, the e-commerce retail market reached a value of $1.6 trillion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.7% from 2021 to 2027

In the US:

  • Consumer spending increased by 32.4% from $598 in 2019 to $791.7 billion in 2020
  • According to the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, during the second quarter of 2021, the US online retail sales reached $222.5 billion, which increased by 3.3% from the first quarter of the year

 In Canada:

  • Online platform sales reached $29.9 billion during the first half of 2021 and is expected to hit a value of $40.3 billion by 2025
  • It is projected that digital buyers in Canada will reach 24.2 million by the end of 2021
  • In 2020, the online retail industry in Canada grew by 75% despite its overall retail sector declining by 4.6%

South America

South America reached $749 billion in 2020 with the following countries experiencing the largest online sales growth during that year:

  • Argentina - 100.6%
  • Mexico - 65.2%
  • Brazil - 50.1%

In 2020:

  • 13 million people in Latin America made their first online purchase, causing the e-commerce market in that region to grow by 36.7%, reaching $85 billion
  • Mercado Libre, one of the largest electronic commerce sites in Latin America, grew its:
    • Unique active users by 84.3%, from 61.1 million to 112.5 million
    • Total payment volume by 71.5% to $33.8 billion
    • Share in the region from 19% in 2015 to 28%

Europe

Online platform sales in Western Europe increased by 31.1% from £224.4 billion ($309.6 billion) in 2019 to £294.2 billion ($405.8 billion) in 2020

The largest contributors to Europe's online sales are:

  • Ireland - 44%
  • Belgium - 31%
  • Czechia - 30%
  • Denmark - 29%
  • Sweden - 24%

Asia Pacific

  • The Asia Pacific region generated the largest online shopping revenue at $2.5 trillion in 2020
  • The fashion industry was the largest contributor to APAC's online shopping revenue at $428 billion during the same year and is expected to reach $630 billion by 2024
  • Also in 2020, online sales of: 
    • Sales of toys, hobbies, and DIY market was valued at $404 billion
    • Electronics and media hit $335 billion

Payment methods

The top 5 preferred payment methods globally in 2020 are:

  • Digital or mobile wallet - 44.5%
  • Credit card - 22.8%
  • Debit card - 12.3%
  • Bank transfer - 7.7%
  • Cash on delivery - 3.3%

Preferred payment methods per region

  • North America
  • Credit card - 32%
  • Digital or mobile wallet - 29.3%
  • Debit card - 20.1%
  • Charge & deferred debit card - 7.4%
  • Bank transfer - 5.8%

US

In the US, the top payment methods in 2020 were:

  • Visa - 94.3%
  • Mastercard - 94.3%
  • American Express - 89.4% 
  • Discover - 84.1%
  • PayPal - 73.9%

South America

The majority of shoppers in South America use credit cards to pay for goods from online retailers

  • Argentina - 77%
  • Uruguay - 70%
  • Colombia - 61%

In Brazil, 90% use national payment methods to pay for their online purchases which include:

  • Credit card - 57%
  • Boleto Bancário (cash-based payment system) - 25%
  • Online bank transfer - 13%
  • Debit card - 5%

Europe

In Europe, the preferred payment methods are:

  • Digital wallets -  44%
  • Card (debit or credit) - 42%
  • Paypal - 32%
  • Local payment method - 11%
  • Pay on delivery - 11%

But per country, the preferred payment method changes:

  • In the UK, they choose to pay for online purchases using Visa + Mastercard at 50%
  • In the Netherlands, 83% of online shoppers use iDeal, an online banking type of payment platform
  • Digital wallets are popular among 53% of Germans, 53% of Italians, and 46% of French people
  • 53% of Belgians use Bancontact, a single-use payment method 
  • PayPal is the trusted payment method of 53% of people living in Spain

Digital buyer penetration

Based on a survey conducted in 2020, the age bracket that used online retailers the most is those aged 25 to 34 years old at 87.6% followed by:

  • 18 to 24 - 86.4%
  • 35 to 44 - 82.1%
  • 45 to 54 - 76.8%
  • 55 to 64 - 68.5%
  • 14 to 17 - 61.8%
  • 65 and over - 48.9%

Consumer behavior

Product research

When looking for things online, shoppers use:

  • Google - 42%
  • Amazon - 33%

When things go wrong with their online shopping experience

  • 52% leave and shop with a retailer's competitor
  • 26% contact customer service to ask for assistance

Cart abandonment

Based on a survey done in 2020:

  • 40% of shoppers struggle doing simple tasks on online retail sites
  • 62% abandon their online carts when they struggle with anything on the retailer's website
  • 53% of consumers believe their online purchase should arrive within 3 days after purchase
  • Based on generation, Generation Z had the most difficulty in completing online transactions at 46% followed by:
    • Millennials - 41%
    • Gen X - 40%
    • Baby boomers - 33%

Products purchased online

In 2020, US consumers' online purchase of:

  • Clothing, shoes, or accessories decreased from 56% to 52% from February 2020 to April 2020
  • Pharmacy, health, or beauty products increased from 38% to 44%
  • Household supplies (cleaning supplies, kitchen supplies, etc.) increased from 30% to 37%
  • Food or beverages increased from 275 to 36%
  • Books, music, or videos increased from 32% to 33%
  • Pet products increased from 25% to 31%

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Use of content

  • If the online retail industry statistics piqued your curiosity and you want to know more, feel free to reach out to Nick Rizzo at nick@runrepeat.com. He's also available to do interviews.
  • All information used in this research is free to use. We only request that you include a link to this original source.

References

https://www.statista.com/statistics/379046/worldwide-retail-e-commerce-sales/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/288487/forecast-of-global-b2c-e-commerce-growth/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/534123/e-commerce-share-of-retail-sales-worldwide/ 

https://www.statista.com/forecasts/220177/b2c-e-commerce-sales-cagr-forecast-for-selected-countries

https://www.statista.com/statistics/311357/sales-of-e-commerce-worldwide-by-region/ 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/266064/revenue-growth-in-e-commerce-for-selected-countries/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/251666/number-of-digital-buyers-worldwide/ 

https://www.emarketer.com/content/latin-america-will-fastest-growing-retail-ecommerce-market-this-year

https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/e-commerce-sales-retail-sales-ten-year-review/

https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5406799/north-america-e-commerce-retail-market-2021-2027?

https://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/pdf/ec_current.pdf

https://www.statista.com/statistics/289741/canada-retail-e-commerce-sales/

https://www.emarketer.com/content/canada-ecommerce-forecast-2021

https://www.retailresearch.org/online-retail.html

https://www.statista.com/statistics/435907/e-commerce-revenue-share-of-companies-by-country-europe/

https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1259087/asia-revenue-e-commerce-market-segment

https://ikajo.com/blog/popular-payment-methods-south-america

https://www.pagbrasil.com/online-payments-in-brazil/ 

https://www.oberlo.com.ph/statistics/most-popular-online-payment-methods

https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1081156/united-states-top-payment-methods-ecommercedb

https://ecommercenews.eu/preferred-payment-methods-in-europe-2021/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/251666/number-of-digital-buyers-worldwide/

https://www.emarketer.com/chart/231369/us-digital-buyer-penetration-by-age-2020-of-population

https://www.retaildive.com/news/study-62-of-shoppers-that-struggle-to-complete-purchases-abandon-their-ca/586749/

https://www.maginus.com/imagine/articles/episerver-commerce-2020/

https://www.synchrony.com/Synchrony%20Financial%20-%20Brick%20and%20Mortar%20Reborn%20-%20August%202016.pdf

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1112172/most-popular-product-categories-purchased-digital-buyers-usa/

https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/news/how-covid-19-triggered-latin-american-e-commerce-boom

Author
Nicholas Rizzo
Nicholas Rizzo
Nick combines 10+ years of experience in the health and fitness industry and a background in the sciences in his role as the Fitness Research Director. During his competitive powerlifting years his PRs have him sitting in the top 2% of bench presses (395 lbs), top 3% of squats (485 lbs) and top 6% of deadlifts (515 lbs) for his weight and age. His work has been featured on Bodybuilding.com, LiveStrong, Healthline, WebMD, WashingtonPost, and many more. Along the way, collaborating with industry leaders like Michael Yessis, Mark Rippetoe, Carlo Buzzichelli, Dave Tate, Ray Williams, and Joel Seedman.