Statistics and Trends
The online world is changing rapidly, growing and evolving at an unprecedented pace. While it was once thought that only big brands needed an online presence, today, if you’re not online, you almost don't exist. This article summarizes the key trends and forecasts for 2024, including what convinces purchases, causes shopping cart abandonment, and more.
In Brief:
- The e-commerce market is worth $6.9 trillion.
- E-commerce sales worldwide will grow by 9.8% by the end of 2024.
- Customer loyalty increases value by 22 times.
- Free shipping remains the most compelling factor for online shoppers.
- 75% of e-commerce shoppers say product images influence their buying decisions.
- 70% of shopping carts are abandoned, but there's a way to convert them.
Shall we begin?
The Power of Big Numbers:
First, let's talk about the big numbers: The global e-commerce market in 2024 is expected to be worth $6.9 trillion by the end of the year! For perspective, if e-commerce were a country, it would have the third-highest GDP in the world, after China and the USA.
In 2024, e-commerce sales will grow by 9.8%. Although the growth rate is stabilizing post-COVID-19, online sales are still expected to increase by 9.83% this year.
These are the three biggest reasons for the continued growth of the e-commerce industry:
- Improved Online Customer Experience: A clean, simple, and experiential design leads to more purchases.
- Social Commerce: Platforms like TikTok Shop and Facebook Marketplace significantly influenced in 2023 and are likely to continue doing so.
- Impact of COVID-19: Shopping habits have not returned to pre-pandemic norms, with more people preferring online shopping.
The Big E-commerce Markets Today:
In 2023, China and the United States dominated e-commerce sales. China's e-commerce industry, led by Alibaba, reached $3,023 billion, while the US recorded $1,163 billion.
The 10 Largest E-commerce Markets in 2023:
- China – $3,023 billion
- United States – $1,163 billion
- United Kingdom – $195 billion
- Japan – $193 billion
- South Korea – $147 billion
- India – $118 billion
- Germany – $97 billion
- Indonesia – $97 billion
- Canada – $83 billion
- France – $79 billion
What Are the Most Profitable E-commerce Categories?
In 2023, fashion was the most profitable e-commerce category, earning $871.2 billion in sales worldwide, despite a 2% drop from 2021.
E-commerce Categories by Revenue:
- Fashion – $871.2 billion
- Electronics – $765.7 billion
- Toys and Hobbies – $601.7 billion
- Furniture – $387.7 billion
- Personal Care and Home Products – $368.2 billion
- Food – $244 billion
- Beverages – $207.9 billion
- Physical Media (books, discs, video games, etc.) – $143.8 billion
Online Shopping: Trends and Behaviors
Consumer behavior is evolving. Here are key trends for 2024:
- 4.11 billion people purchased products online last year.
- 57.6% of internet users buy something online at least once a week.
The top 10 countries for 2023 where a percentage of internet users purchase an item online at least once a week:
- Thailand – 66.8%
- South Korea – 65.6%
- Turkey – 64.6%
- Mexico – 64.5%
- Chile – 62.7%
- Indonesia – 62.6%
- India – 62.3%
- United Arab Emirates – 62.3%
- China – 61.9%
- Malaysia – 61.3%
For those wondering, the USA is in 19th place with 57.5%, which puts it slightly below the global average of 57.6%.
M-commerce (Mobile Commerce) Statistics:
Creating an efficient user experience on mobile should be a top priority since 60% of e-commerce purchases occur on mobile devices. Additionally, 29% of internet users make an e-commerce transaction on their phones at least once a week, and this is expected to grow.
Source: Digital 2023 Global Overview Report
Most Effective Persuasion Factors in E-commerce:
- Free shipping – 49.4%
- Coupons and discounts – 37.9%
- Reviews from other customers – 31.6%
- Easy return policy – 30.4%
- Good user experience and easy payment process – 28.2%
And another important point for free shipping: Consumers spend more with free shipping.
In a study conducted by Shopify, it turns out that e-commerce consumers will spend more on our products if they don't have to pay for shipping. Here's what they found:
- The data shows that buyers order 2.5 items with free shipping, compared to 2 items with paid shipping.
- Free shipping encourages online consumers to spend $3 more than the median average of an item.
- Median order values increase by an average of $22 with free shipping.
What Causes Shopping Cart Abandonment? The abandonment rate stands at 70% in 2024.
The reality of the average cart abandonment rate is a depressing figure for e-commerce brands. However, understanding the reasons for this can help us make a change.
Hint to the main reason for abandonment is in the previous data - additional costs are the main reason for abandoned carts. Just as free shipping can encourage a purchase, additional shipping costs can deter.
Here are the top 5 reasons online shoppers gave for abandoning their carts:
- Additional costs, such as shipping, were too high – 47%
- Requirement to create a user account on the site – 25%
- Slow shipping – 24%
- Site didn't seem trustworthy enough to enter credit card details – 19%
- Payment process was too long and/or too complicated – 18%
Is it fixable? Yes!
Abandoned carts recoverable are estimated at $260 billion per year.
Companies can reclaim a whopping $260 billion per year if they focus on a better purchasing process. If there ever was a reason to optimize customer experience and add a free shipping option, this is it!
E-commerce Marketing Statistics for 2024:
Which marketing methods are worth investing in this year to grow our e-commerce business?
Visuals are very, very important!
Let's start here. Visual content is everything for a successful e-commerce brand. We're talking about video content, product photography, user-generated content, social media ads.
It cannot be emphasized enough how important high-quality images are. Product photography is a central purchasing driver!
Looking for the winning product image? Come to us and create the highest level of visualizations.
Buyers want to know what they're buying, and it's complicated when selling online. How do you convince a future customer to make a purchase for a product that isn't physically in front of them?
High-level product photography is the key. Here's an important statistic that proves it: Product images greatly influence the purchasing decisions of 75% of e-commerce shoppers.
By the way, explanatory videos for the product are also influential and profitable!
Videos that explain how your product works are much more fascinating than reading product descriptions. A study run by Google in 2019 found that videos helped 50% of online shoppers decide which product to buy.
E-commerce Site Statistics
Search engines are still the leading channel for reaching our products. 30% of buyers ranked search engines as the leading way they discovered new brands in 2023. Here are the highest-ranked channels chosen by online shoppers:
- Search engines (30.6%)
- TV ads (30.2%)
- Word of mouth recommendations (27.4%)
- Social media ads (26.6%)
- Brand and product sites (23.3%)
The truth is, this proves that a website for our brands can yield quite a bit. Of all the potential ways in which internet users interact with brands online, it's likely that they will visit our site. 43.1% of internet users visited a brand site every month in 2022.
So don't neglect your site. It's a central part of creating online shopping experiences that convert. Ensure it runs smoothly on mobile devices, that you're using attractive product images, and that the site has been optimized.
Brands are Increasingly Using E-commerce Marketplaces: 27% of direct marketing brands plan to increase their presence in e-commerce marketplaces in 2024.
Social media and E-commerce are Becoming More Integrated
Just look at Facebook's Marketplace or TikTok sales and see the crazy rise they made in 2023. And here are the data that back up this statement:
- 26% of people first hear about a new brand through social media ads
Creating ads on social networks is important, not just for increasing sales. There's tremendous importance in using the social world to increase exposure and familiarity with our brand.
- 49% of TikTok users say it influences them when considering a purchase
Yes, it's time to get on TikTok. Half of the population on this platform is interested in products there.
- It's likely that Generation Z will turn to social media sites to research brands
16-24-year-olds are the only generation that will turn more to a social platform than search engines to learn and research a brand. If Gen Z is your target audience, it's very advisable to make sure they can easily find information about your brand on social. This means regular maintenance of this channel.
- Social commerce sales are expected to reach $2,900 billion by 2026
In short, social commerce is entering our world with full force and it's here to stay.
Retention and Customer Loyalty in the World of E-commerce 2024
Did you know? It's more likely we'll sell to an existing customer than acquire a new one.
The probability that an e-commerce brand will sell to an existing customer is 60-70%. The probability of selling to a new customer hovers around 5-20%.
So what do we do to reach existing customers? Emails, of course. Setting up an email campaign for customer retention is a great way to start taking advantage of this.
Another interesting number: Loyalty increases customer value by 22 times.
And that's not all, 40% of shoppers will pay more for products from a trustworthy brand, even if there are cheaper alternatives by brands they still don't trust.
In short, the world of e-commerce in 2024 demands high-level visuals from you, to live in the world of social networks, to provide high-level customer service, and to remember that life runs on mobile at a fast pace.
Need help? We're here to ensure your brand breaks through in 2024 and flies on a rocket.
