E-commerce statistics and trends in 2024

E-commerce platforms give business owners a way to reach more people than ever before. By crafting a conversion-focused online presence, businesses can boost sales and effectively engage their target audience on new channels. And it’s a fast-growing industry. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of e-commerce sites operating around the world increased from 9.2 million¹ to over 26.2 million.² 

With useful features for payment processing, promotions and marketing, the best e-commerce platforms allow traditional brick-and-mortar businesses to establish themselves on a global scale. We’ve analyzed statistics from several reputable organizations to compile the top e-commerce stats of 2024.

Top e-commerce statistics:

• Out of over 26.2 million e-commerce sites globally, over 13 million are U.S. based.²
• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, e-commerce sales made up 15.6% of total U.S. retail sales by the end of 2023.³
• According to eMarketer, China’s online e-commerce sales reached over 710 million customers in 2023.⁴
• According to Insider Intelligence and eMarketer, worldwide e-commerce sales are expected to exceed $6 trillion in 2024.⁵
• The food and beverage industry had the highest e-commerce conversion rate of any industry at 3.7%, according to data compiled by Statista.⁸
• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, total e-commerce sales in the country reached $1,118.7 billion in 2023.¹⁹
• The fastest-growing e-commerce market globally is the Philippines.⁹
• As of the end of 2022, mobile e-commerce made up 38% of the total digital spending in the U.S., according to data compiled by Statista.¹⁰

How many e-commerce sites are there?

There are over 26.2 million e-commerce sites worldwide. Just over 13 million of these are based in the U.S. — more than any other country. Other countries that have a significant amount of e-commerce websites include:² 

• United Kingdom (over 1.2 million).
• Brazil (over 800,000).
• Germany (over 700,000). 
• Australia (nearly 700,000).
• France (nearly 600,000).

Average e-commerce conversion rate

Conversion rates, or the percentage of people who’ve visited your website and have gone on to make a purchase, can vary widely depending on various factors. Industry is one of those factors. At the end of 2023, the average conversion rate for food and beverage was 3.7%, which was higher than any other sector. It is followed by:⁸

• Beauty and skincare (3.3%).
• General apparel (2.6%). 
• Home, dining, art and decor (2.4%).
• General footwear (2.4%).

On the flip side, the worst-converting e-commerce sector was luxury handbags, with only 0.4% of visitors going on to make a purchase. This was followed by:⁸ 

• Home furniture (0.8%).
• Luxury apparel (0.9%).
• General handbags and luggage (1.2%). 
• Home appliances (1.6%).

Looking at conversion rates by country, it’s perhaps no surprise that the U.S. is one of the highest converting countries at 2.6% by the end of 2023. According to data compiled by Statista, some of the other country conversion rates include:⁸ 

• United Kingdom (3%).
• Netherlands (2.8%).
• Canada (2.4%).
• Germany (2.4%).
• Australia and New Zealand (2.2%).

What percentage of retail sales are online?

According to U.S. Census data, by the end of 2023 e-commerce sales made up 15.6% of total retail sales in the country.¹⁹ That percentage is forecasted to rise to 16.6% in 2024 and up to 20.6% by 2027. This marks growth of over 10% in under 10 years and will equal over $1.7 trillion being spent online, according to eMarketer data.⁵

When looking at e-commerce on a global scale, the percentage of retail sales completed online is predicted to reach 23% by 2027. So, while the United States e-commerce growth is impressive, its overall penetration into the retail market pales when compared to other nations.⁵

Global e-commerce statistics 

It’s expected that in 2024, worldwide e-commerce sales will exceed $6 trillion, and at least half of this will come from China, according to Insider Intelligence and eMarketer.⁵ Here’s a dive into e-commerce statistics from around the world.

E-commerce market size by country

According to data compiled by Statista, the e-commerce market in China was the largest in 2023. Nearly half of the retail sales for China were internet sales. Other countries with large e-commerce markets include:¹² 

• Indonesia (32%).
• United Kingdom (30%). 
• South Korea (30%).

However, data compiled by Statista claimed that the Philippines and India were some of the quickest-growing e-commerce markets in 2023, with an anticipated growth of 20% each.¹² Other statistics showed that:¹²

• Based in China, Alibaba is the largest e-commerce retailer in the world. It accounts for 23% of the market share.
• Amazon is forecasted to take the lead in estimated sales by 2027 and reach $1.2 trillion in sales by that same year.

eMarketer stats showed that China contributed $3,023.66 billion in e-commerce sales in 2023, with the United States trailing at $1,163.49 billion. Other countries contributed the following:⁵ 

• United Kingdom: $195.97 billion.
• Japan: $193.42 billion. 
• South Korea: $147.43 billion. 
• India: $118.9 billion.
• Germany: $97.32 billion.

U.S. e-commerce statistics

According to a report by Gartner, it’s thought that by 2026, digital sales rooms will be used to manage and direct at least 30% of B2B sales and customer life cycles.²⁷ Additionally, Digital Commerce 360’s report on the 2024 B2B market forecasts that the B2B e-commerce industry will exceed $2 trillion in 2024.²⁸ 

In 2023 alone, e-commerce sales made up 17% of all B2B sales in the U.S., according to Digital Commerce 360.²⁸ This is down from 2022 when it was at 19%. However, the actual amount in sales has increased from $1.946 billion to $2.082 billion at the same time. Data taken from Statista suggests that by 2025, the total North American B2B e-commerce market will exceed $4 trillion in value. 

This research also showed that in 2023, the combined e-commerce sales of primarily online manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers grew by 17%. E-procurement sales also increased by 16% from 2022 to 2023.²⁸

Additionally, around 70% of B2B buyers prefer to shop online, seeing it as more convenient — however, only around a third of B2B buyers thought their B2B e-commerce experience was “excellent.”²⁸

Social commerce statistics

According to research by the Influencer Marketing Hub, the social commerce market is expected to exceed $1 trillion for the first time, growing by 31% since 2022 and forecasted to hit $1.3 trillion.²⁹ Indeed, experts believe by 2030, revenue will reach $6.2 trillion, according to data from Grand View Research.³¹

Stats from Hootsuite suggest that over $2.5 billion has already been spent by consumers globally through TikTok, one of the most influential social media platforms. A Trust in Influencer Marketing study revealed that over half of internet users in the U.S. purchased a product after they’d seen an influencer use it.⁶

Insider Intelligence and eMarketer figures show that around a third of Instagram users will use the platform to buy something — but almost 71% of Generation Z are willing to use Instagram to purchase goods.⁷ Predictably, the same is true for all other social media platforms with: 

• 62% of Gen Z willing to use Facebook compared to 49% of total respondents.
• 68% willing to use YouTube (vs. 46% in total).
• 68% willing to use TikTok (vs. 39% in total).
• Snapchat (55% vs. 31%).

Biggest e-commerce companies

It will likely come as no surprise that the biggest e-commerce company in the world is Amazon, with a total market value of $867.58 billion. Its yearly revenue from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023 was $524.9 billion. Amazon’s market value was over twice that of Walmart’s, in second place with a comparatively modest market value of $387.72 billion.³⁰

Doofinder also stated that:³⁰

• The Home Depot had a market value of $324.85 billion. 
• Alibaba had a market value of $226.76 billion.
• Reliance Industries had a market value of $206.31 billion.

Prosus is the first European company to make the list, headquartered in the Netherlands with a market value of $206.01 billion, while Costco ($205.34 billion) is the last American company to appear. The last three e-commerce companies in the top 10 are from China:³⁰

• Meituan Dianping ($145.31 billion).
• Pinduoduo ($106.25 billion).
• JD.com ($88.36 billion).

Amazon’s place as the global leader in e-commerce saw it responsible for over a third of all e-commerce spending in the U.S. in 2023,¹⁷ and it’s expected that it will grow by another 11.7% in 2024.⁵ The company’s net revenue exceeded $550 billion in 2023, up by over $40 billion compared to the previous year. With over 35 million yearly downloads of its app, it’s by some distance the most popular online shopping platform in the U.S.¹⁸

E-commerce platform market share

Shopify (15.23%) and WooCommerce (13.85%) together have over a quarter of the total market share of e-commerce platforms. Shopify is the most popular, with nearly 4 million websites live, while WooCommerce’s 3.6 million is still way ahead of the next highest, Squarespace, at 1.2 million websites (4.74% market share).²

No other e-commerce platform has more than one million websites; Ecwid’s 3.55% market share translates to over 900,000 websites, and OpenCart rounds out the top five with a 1.75% market share and over 450,000 live websites.²

Amazon is the most popular web technology in use across the United States, taking 21.22% of the market share with over 78 million sites using it. Apache and Google Analytics hold 14.89% and 12.80%.¹

Sources

1. MARKINBLOG - Study: How Many eCommerce Sites Are There?
2. BuiltWith - eCommerce Usage Distribution in the Top 1 Million Sites.
3. U.S. Department of Commerce - QUARTERLY RETAIL E-COMMERCE SALES.
4. International Trade Administration - China – Country Commercial Guide.
5. Insider Intelligence and eMarketer - Worldwide Ecommerce Forecast 2023.
6. Insider Intelligence and eMarketer - Guide to mobile commerce and its business applications.
7. Insider Intelligence and eMarketer - Social Networks Where US Adults Are Likely to Make Purchases Directly, Gen Z vs. Total, Q1 2023 (% of respondents).
8. Statista - Online shopping conversion rate in selected verticals worldwide in 4th quarter 2023.
9. Statista - Leading countries based on retail e-commerce sales growth in 2023.
10. Statista - Mobile commerce share of total digital commerce spending in the United States from 4th quarter 2017 to 4th quarter 2022.
11. Statista - Conversion rate of online shoppers worldwide from 1st quarter to 4th quarter 2023, by country and region.
12. Statista - Retail e-commerce sales worldwide from 2014 to 2027.
13. Statista - Mobile share of organic search engine visits in the United States from 4th quarter 2013 to 4th quarter 2019, by platform.
14. Statista - Mobile retail e-commerce sales in the United States from 2019 to 2027.
15. Statista - E-commerce returns in the United States - statistics & facts.
16. Statista - Reasons for returning online purchases in the United States in 2022.
17. Statista - Market share of leading retail e-commerce companies in the United States in 2023.
18. Statista - Leading shopping apps in the United States in 2023, by number of downloads.
19. U.S. Census Bureau - Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales.
20. Pew Research Center - Online shopping has grown rapidly in U.S., but most sales are still in stores.
21. Pew Research Center - Mobile Fact Sheet.
22. Pew Research Center - For shopping, phones are common and influencers have become a factor – especially for young adults.
23. IMARC - Mobile Commerce Market Report… 2024-2032.
24. Airship - Global Survey Shoes More Consumers Turn to Retailers’ Mobile Apps to Streamline In-Store Shopping Experiences and Score Personalized Offers and Deals. 
25. Shopify - Ecommerce Returns: Expert Guide to Best Practices (2024).
26. National Retail Federation - 2023 Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry.
27. Gartner - Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce.
28. Digital Commerce 360 - 2024 B2B Market and Customer Experience Report.
29. Influencer Marketing Hub - The State of Influencer Marketing.
30. Doofinder - Top 10 Largest eCommerce Companies (2024).
31. Grand View Research - Market Analysis Report.