Ecommerce has transformed the retail landscape. In fact, ecommerce is forecasted to capture from Just 18% in 2017" href="https://www.bcg.com/press/31october2023-ecommerce-global-retail-sales" target="_blank" rel="noopener">41% of retail sales worldwide by 2027, up from only 18% back in 2017.

From the convenience of fast and free shipping to wide product choice, more consumers opt to shop online.

To help you learn about the dynamic landscape of online shopping, we’ve curated a list of recent ecommerce statistics to know in 2024.

Let’s dive right in.

Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll find on this stats page:

• General Ecommerce Statistics
• Online Shopping Behavior Statistics
• Mobile Ecommerce Statistics
• Social Media Ecommerce Statistics

General Ecommerce Statistics

What’s the share of ecommerce in retail sales worldwide and in the US? What are the top ecommerce categories? In this section, we’ll cover recent stats on retail ecommerce sales worldwide and in the US.

• Retail ecommerce sales worldwide are estimated to reach $6.33 trillion in 2024, that is an 8.76% year-over-year increase (eMarketer)
  

  

  Here’s a detailed breakdown of retail ecommerce sales growth since 2021:

  Year	Retail Ecommerce Sales Worldwide
  2021	$4.98 trillion
  2022	$5.29 trillion
  2023	$5.82 trillion
  2024	$6.33 trillion
  2025	$6.86 trillion
  2026	$7.41 trillion
  2027	$7.96 trillion

• Ecommerce accounts for 20.1% of total retail sales worldwide in 2024. Ecommerce share in global retail sales is forecasted to reach 22.6% by 2027 (eMarketer)

  Here’s a table with ecommerce share of total retail sales worldwide since 2021:

  Year	Retail Ecommerce Worldwide (% Share of Total Retail Sales)
  2021	18.8%
  2022	18.7%
  2023	19.4%
  2024	20.1%
  2025	21.0%
  2026	21.8%
  2027	22.6%

• Retail ecommerce sales in the US amounted to $1.1 trillion in 2023, up from $1.03 trillion in 2022 (U.S. Census Bureau)
  

  

  In Q1 2024, US retail ecommerce sales reached $289.2 billion.

  Here’s a detailed breakdown of US retail ecommerce sales since 2018:

  Year	US Retail Ecommerce Sales
  2018	$512.57 billion
  2019	$599.51 billion
  2020	$787.93 billion
  2021	$870.71 billion
  2022	$1.03 trillion
  2023	$1.1 trillion
  Q1 2024	$289.2 billion

• As of Q1 2024, ecommerce represents a 15.89% share of all retail sales in the US (U.S. Census Bureau)

  Here’s a table with ecommerce share of US retail sales worldwide since 2018:

  Year	US Retail Ecommerce (% Share of Total Retail Sales)
  2018	9.63%
  2019	10.97%
  2020	14.02%
  2021	13.22%
  2022	14.54%
  2023	15.28%
  Q1 2024	15.89%

• Amazon accounts for 40.4% of total retail ecommerce sales in the US, representing $491.65 billion in gross sales in 2024. To put it in perspective, Walmart’s retail ecommerce sales amounted to $83.18 billion in 2024 (eMarketer 1, eMarketer 2)

  Year	US Amazon Retail Sales	Share of Total US Retail Sales
  2020	$309.48 billion	37.9%
  2021	$364.55 billion	38.0%
  2022	$398.13 billion	38.3%
  2023	$444.76 billion	39.6%
  2024	$491.65 billion	40.4%
  2025	$540.29 billion	40.9%

• Amazon, eBay, and Walmart are the top 3 most popular ecommerce sites ranked by US monthly visits as of November 2023 (eMarketer)
  

  

  Here’s a full ranking of top 10 ecommerce websites in the US ranked by number of monthly visits:

  Website	Monthly Visits
  amazon.com	2.08 billion
  ebay.com	543.8 million
  walmart.com	492.7 million
  etsy.com	276.2 million
  target.com	217.4 million
  t-mobile.com	202.3 million
  homedepot.com	191.0 million
  att.com	173.8 million
  bestbuy.com	155.9 million
  apple.com	150.3 million

• By 2027, grocery is forecasted to be the largest ecommerce category in the US, accounting for 19.0% of ecommerce sales, closely followed by apparel and accessories (18.7%), computer and consumer electronics (15.5%), furniture and home furnishings (14.6%) (eMarketer)
• Clothing, shoes, and beauty products are the top 3 digital purchases in the US (eMarketer)

  Here’s a complete list of the most popular digital purchases in the US:

  Product Category	Share of US Digital Buyers (who made a purchase in the past month)
  Clothing	67.1%
  Shoes	44.0%
  Beauty products	43.1%
  Food and beverages (non-alcoholic)	41.8%
  Household supplies	40.9%
  Toys and games	37.1%
  Books, music, and videos	36.7%
  Pet products	35.7%
  Pharmacy and health	35.3%
  Accessories	31.8%

• 56.1% of internet users worldwide aged 16 to 64 make an online purchase each week (DataReportal)
  

  

• On average, annual spending per online shopper worldwide reached $1,109 in 2023. In the US, the average online spend per buyer is $2,700 (DataReportal)
• Electronics is currently the largest consumer product category with the most ecommerce spending in the US, accounting for 781.3$ billion in sales in 2023 (DataReportal)

  Here’s a detailed breakdown with largest product categories by annual consumer spending in the US:

  Product Category	Annual Ecommerce Spending (B2C, US)
  Electronics	$781.3 billion
  Fashion	$673.6 billion
  Food	$370.7 billion
  Beverages	$209.3 billion
  DIY & Hardware	$201.8 billion
  Furniture	$188.0 billio
  Physical Media	$182.7 billion
  Beauty & Personal Care	$151.2 billion
  Tobacco Products	$104.4 billion
  Toys & Hobby	$80.53 billion
  Household Essentials	$72.98 billion
  Over-the-Counter Pharmaceuticals	$59.65 billion
  Luxury Goods	$54.42 billion
  Eye-Wear	$23.48 billion

Online Shopping Behavior Statistics

What are the online purchase drivers? Why do consumers abandon their shopping carts? In this section, we’ve curated a list of online shopping behavior statistics to answer these questions.

• Free delivery (50.6%), coupons and discounts (39.3%), and easy returns policy (33.2%) rank as the top 3 online purchase drivers among internet users worldwide (16-64 years old) (DataReportal)
  

  

  Here’s a complete ranking of online purchase drivers:

  Factor	Share of Internet Users
  Free delivery	50.6%
  Coupons and discounts	39.3%
  Easy returns policy	33.2%
  Simple online checkout	30.6%
  Customer reviews	30.5%
  Next-day delivery	30.4%
  Loyalty points	27.2%
  Cash on delivery	19.8%
  Social likes and comments	19.4%
  Eco-friendly credentials	18.9%
  Click and collect	17.7%
  Interest-free payments	14.7%
  Guest checkout	11.2%
  Social buy buttons	10.8%
  Exclusive content or services	10.2%

• 48% of US consumers state that their main reason for abandoning shopping carts during the checkout process are high extra costs (shipping, tax, fees).

  Other common reasons for abandoning a shopping cart include a requirement to create an account (26%) and security concerns with sharing credit card information (25%) (Statista)

  Here’s a complete list of popular reasons why US consumers abandon their shopping carts:

  Reason	Share of Respondents
  Extra costs too high (shipping, tax, fees)	48%
  Requirement to create an account	26%
  I didn’t trust the site with my credit card information	25%
  Delivery was too slow	23%
  Too long / complicated checkout process	22%
  I couldn’t see / calculate total order cost-up front	21%
  Returns policy wasn’t satisfactory	18%
  Website had errors / crashed	17%
  There weren’t enough payment methods	13%
  The credit card was declined	9%

• For 40.4% of US consumers marketplaces were a starting point in their online shopping journeys in 2023. Another 29.7% of online shoppers stated use of search engines, followed by preferred brand’s website (18.2%) and social media (9.9%) (Attest)
• Lower prices (29%), convenience (21%), free shipping (14%), product availability (7%), and good customer service (7%) are the top 5 reasons consumers choose to shop online (Feedvisor)
• More than 7 in 10 US adults believe home delivery, free shipping, and in-stock products are necessary online shopping attributes for conveniences (eMarketer)
  

  

  Online Shopping Attribute	Share of Respondents
  Ordering for home delivery	81%
  Free shipping	76%
  In-stock products	71%
  Package tracking	68%
  Fast shipping	66%
  Free returns	63%
  Website filtering and search tools	62%
  Mobile shopping	61%
  Saving products in cart to come back later	60%
  Ease of finding discounts	56%
  Comparing prices across sites	54%
  Mail-in returns	51%
  Comparing products across sites	49%
  Saving checkout details in a user profile	47%
  Generous return windows	43%

• 66% of consumers cite free shipping as a key online shopping feature (PYMNTS)
• 5 in 10 consumers take into account the ease of checkout process on a retailer’s website or app when making a decision where to shop online (PYMNTS)
• As of April 2024, the average shopping cart abandonment rate worldwide is 73.27% (Dynamic Yield)

Mobile Ecommerce Statistics

With the increased usage of smartphones, more consumers are looking for mobile-first online shopping experiences. These stats will help you understand the mobile commerce landscape.

• 29.9% of internet users worldwide (16-64 years old) buy something online each week via a mobile phone (DataReportal)
  

  

• Revenue from mobile ecommerce sales worldwide reached $2.07 trillion in 2024, accounting for 57% of total ecommerce sales (Statista)

  Here’s a table with mobile commerce revenue worldwide, including a share of total retail ecommerce since 2017:

  Year	Mobile Commerce Worldwide	Share of Total Retail Ecommerce
  2017	$500 billion	40%
  2018	$660 billion	43%
  2019	$810 billion	46%
  2020	$1.1 trillion	48%
  2021	$1.4 trillion	49%
  2022	$1.48 trillion	52%
  2023	$1.71 trillion	54%
  2024	$2.07 trillion	57%
  2025	$2.51 trillion	59%
  2026	$2.74 trillion	60%
  2027	$3.02 trillion	62%
  2028	$3.35 trillion	63%

• Mobile ecommerce accounts for nearly half (44.1%) of US online sales in 2024, representing $564.1 billion in order value.

  By 2027, mobile commerce is forecasted to reach $856.4 billion in sales in the US, accounting for 49.79% of online sales (eMarketer)

  Here’s a detailed breakdown of mobile ecommerce growth in the US since 2023:

  Year	Online Sales (Mobile Devices)	Online Sales (Dekstop/Laptop)	Online Sales (Total, US)
  2023	$491.1 billion	$645.8 billion	$1.137 trillion
  2024	$564.1 billion	$692.2 billion	$1.256 trillion
  2025	$648.0 billion	$744.0 billion	$1.392 trillion
  2026	$744.7 billion	$800.3 billion	$1.545 trillion
  2027	$856.4 billion	$863.3 billion	$1.720 trillion

• There are an estimated 161.6 million mobile wallet users in the US alone, accounting for 64.9% of US smartphone users (eMarketer)
• 61% of American adults consider mobile shopping as a necessary online shopping attribute (eMarketer)
  

  

• The average conversion rate for online purchases made mobile devices was 2% vs. 3% for desktops (eMarketer)
• In April 2024, traffic from mobile devices to ecommerce sites accounted for 73% share (Dynamic Yield)

Social Media Ecommerce Statistics

From brand and product discovery to direct purchases, social media has transformed the ecommerce industry. These statistics offer valuable insights about social commerce.

• 50.3% of social media users in the US have made at least one purchase via social channel in 2024 (eMarketer)
  

  

  Here’s a detailed breakdown of US social buyers since 2021:

  Year	US Social Buyers	Share of Social Media Users
  2021	96.9 million	46.6%
  2022	102.6 million	48.4%
  2023	106.8 million	49.5%
  2024	110.4 million	50.3%
  2025	113.2 million	50.6%
  2026	115.8 million	50.7%
  2027	118.1 million	50.9%

• US social commerce sales reached $67.06 billion in 2023, up from $26.97 billion in 2020 (eMarketer)

  Social commerce sales in the US are forecasted to grow to $144.52 billion by 2027.

• Average social commerce spending per buyer in the US amounted to $627.8 in 2023, up from $337.7 in 2020. Sales per buyers forecasted to reach $1,223.7 by 2027 (eMarketer)
• 23.1% of social commerce users in the US are 25 to 34 years old (eMarketer)
  

  

  Here’s a detailed breakdown of US social buyers by age group:

  Age Group	Share of US Social Buyers
  14-17	7.5%
  18-24	16.8%
  25-34	23.1%
  35-44	19.1%
  45-54	13.5%
  55-64	10.4%
  65+	9.6%

• Facebook (49%), YouTube (46%) and Instagram (40%) are social media platforms where American adults are most likely to make direct purchases (eMarketer)
• Among Gen Z (ages 18-26) in the US, Instagram (71%), YouTube (68%) and TikTok (68%) are leading destinations for social commerce (eMarketer)
• 30% of American adults reported they have purchased a product from a brand founded by a social media influencer. Among Gen Z and millennials that’s as much as 53% and 47%, respectively (Morning Consult)
  

  

• Among US consumers, YouTube is a go-to social media platform to start their search when shopping online. 13% of US adults start their search on YouTube (Jungle Scout)

  Other popular networks to start a search when shopping online include Facebook (10%), TikTok (7%), Instagram (7%), and Pinterest (5%)

• 50% of consumers say they discover new products on social media (Salesforce)
• 59% of shoppers report they have made a purchase on social media (Salesforce)