In the context of a continuing global pandemic, many consumers have increased their dependence on online shopping, forcing retailers and brands to invest in e-commerce at a breakneck speed.

With more and more businesses focused on digital sales, it’s more important than ever to understand the rapidly changing e-commerce landscape. 

Here are more than 50 insights into what’s transpired in the e-commerce world recently and forecasts for what’s ahead.

E-commerce General Stats

1. In the third quarter of 2021, e-commerce sales totaled $204.62 billion, up by 7% from $191.57 billion in the same period last year. (Digital Commerce 360)

While the figure in third-quarter 2021 is actually a drop from the second quarter same year, in comparison to the pre-pandemic Q3 2019, e-commerce sales increased by 46% in Q3 2021.

2. 48% of customers said in a January 2021 survey that the coronavirus pandemic has forever changed their shopping habits. (AlixPartners)

Meanwhile, many customers have said that brand loyalty just doesn’t matter as much anymore: the spending priorities too have undergone a tremendous change.   

3. E-commerce sales are projected to hit $6.5 trillion by 2023. (Statista)

Data from Statista also revealed that more than 2 billion unique people made at least one online purchase last year (2020).

4. By 2025, m-commerce is predicted to account for more than 10% of all retail purchases in the United States. (Statista)

When was the last time you opted to use your desktop or laptop to make a purchase online? The palm-held devices add to the convenience of shopping. 

5. Etsy, Walmart, and Chewy are the top three US retail businesses seeing e-commerce growth in 2021, with Amazon coming in fourth with 24.9% year-over-year growth. (eMarketer)

Amazon is predicted to outperform the top ten US retailers in e-commerce sales this year. Target has grown by 12.5 %, while Best Buy has declined by 3.1 %.

E-commerce has become an essential component of the global retail landscape in the past two-years.

6. 70% of shoppers purchased from a brand after watching a video on YouTube. (Think with Google)

Last year’s pandemic and worldwide lockdowns have not only changed the way customers buy, but also how. 

7. There are over 5,300 Shopify Plus stores in 2021. (Business 2 Community)

The number is constantly increasing. More and more retail businesses are going digital and consumers are finding comfort in online retail and e-commerce. 

8. According to data revealed by Similar Website on E-commerce and Shopping sites, the average visit duration was more than six minutes, and customers browsed more than six pages on each visit on the world’s biggest e-commerce and online shopping sites. (Similarweb)

As per the data, Amazon remains the top-visited site in 2021. 

9. Post-pandemic retail pharmacies are projected to account for over 1/4 market share in the sales of feminine hygiene products. However, online sales are expected to rise at the fastest CAGR among all distribution channels. (Persistence Market Research)

Most retail stores are expanding their feminine product offerings, both online and off the shelf.

10. There are an estimated 12-24 million online stores worldwide, with more launching every day. (SEMrush)

The pandemic and worldwide lockdowns contributed to this growth. 

11.  The first ever e-commerce online transaction was made by Dan Kohn in August 1994, who created a website called NetMarket.  (Smithsonian Magazine)

According to Peter H. Lewis of The New York Times, on August 11, Kohn sold a CD of Sting’s “Ten Summoner’s Tales” to a pal in Philadelphia.

12. In 2022, online CPG sales will account for approximately 10% of the total US CPG market. (Statista)

This applies to all types of online shopping, including click-and-collect.

Online Shopping Stats

1. More than six out of every ten shopping journeys begin online. (Think with Google)

Smartphone and social media disruption has revolutionized online shopping, changing the shopping behaviors.  

2. 80% of online shoppers and 63% of mobile shoppers said that the cutting-edge tech and innovations have helped improve their experience. (National Retail Federation)

It stands to reason that these customers are aficionados of new technologies and breakthroughs, given that online shopping is built on cutting-edge tech.

3. By 2025, online grocery will account for 21.5% of total grocery sales in the US, more than doubling its present market share. (Supermarket News)

It was during the pandemic that online grocery sales exploded. 

4. More than 40% of worldwide customers have purchased things they found on YouTube. (Think with Google)

YouTube is already a prominent shopping destination in many aspects. Many of the video platform’s 2 billion users follow unboxing videos and product reviews.

5. According to the research ‘The Shape of Retail: Consumers and the New Normal’, 38% of customers mentioned they bought something online that they would not have bought before the coronavirus pandemic. (Alvarez and Marsal)

The following areas, in particular, saw growth:

• Health
• Hygiene
• Home essentials
• Food & beverage

6. Shopping online, according to 35% of shoppers, is a speedier experience from product selection to checkout, with 28% preferring the convenience of checkout, 19% preferring product selection, and 50% favoring convenience in general. (Inmar Intelligence)

Apart from convenience, the checkout process is what keeps customers buying groceries online rather than in-store.

7. In 2021, 54% of US shoppers bought at Walmart in-store, while 39% shopped online at Walmart.com. (JungleScout)

Affluent, urban, or younger households are most likely to purchase groceries online, according to online grocery demographics. These demographics are understandably time conscious and prioritize convenience.

8. Around 65% of Amazon buyers prefer to do desktop shopping. They are making their searches and purchases on Amazon’s desktop site, and only 16.6% and 13.6% are using the mobile site and mobile app, respectively. (Statista)

In the age of smartphone technology and m-commerce, ‘65%’ isn’t a small number. 

9. In 2020, eBay was the second leading marketplace in the US, only second to Amazon. (Web Retailer)

 However, they only had $90 billion in GMV, which was much lower than Amazon’s. 

10. 97% of respondents in a survey said that peak holiday traffic is greater than non-holiday traffic. (Digital Commerce 360)

More people shop during the holiday season than during the non-holidays. 

E-commerce Cart Abandonment Stats 

1. 57% of shoppers will abandon the cart if a page takes longer than three seconds to load. (Sleeknote) 

Let’s be honest here, we’re all consumers in some way and neither of us has the patience to navigate through a slow-loading site. 

2. Cart abandonment costs e-commerce companies $18 billion in revenue each year. (Shopify)

The primary reason for online shoppers to abandon their carts is high extra costs. It’s why it is vital to be transparent about any extra costs. 

3. Industry experts are of the view that if e-commerce brands adopt the right checkout optimization strategy, they can increase conversions by 36%. (Sleeknote)

It’s not easy to get to this figure, but it’s certainly doable.

At the end of the day, it’s all about figuring out what’s wrong and putting in a deliberate effort to enhance e-commerce site design, promotions, products, and checkout flow, among other things.

4. A survey conducted by Baymard institute revealed that 55% of respondents cited higher costs as being the reason why they abandon carts. (Sleeknote)

While there are various factors at play, extra costs such as shipping, taxes, and fees were by far the most significant.

5. The same survey revealed that 34% said being forced to create an account is the second biggest reason why people abandon carts. (Sleeknote)

Cart abandonment is highly influenced by “the site required me to register an account”.

6. The study by Baymard also revealed that 58.6% of shoppers abandoned a cart within the last three months because they were just window-shopping or not ready to buy. (Netsuite)

You can still always throw in a casual reminder! 

7. 55% of shoppers will abort the purchase if they have to type in their credit card or shipping information again. (Sleeknote) 

This may not sound like such a big deal but customers get frustrated when they have to retype or re-enter any details all over again. A healthy user experience is just as crucial to cart conversions. 

8. According to a poll of 1,100 US-based consumers conducted by Retail System Research, 90% will abandon a site if it does not load in an acceptable amount of time. (Digital Commerce 360)

No one likes a slow-loading site and most customers will find another retailer. Better it be your site than a competitor’s. 

9. According to Shopify various reports cited that being forced to create an account, complicated checkout processes, unexpected delivery costs, concerns over security are major reasons why their customers abandon shopping carts. (Shopify)

These problems can be fixed with a little bit of consideration with respect to the user experience.

10. Consumers in North America expect free delivery on their online shopping orders. (Plytix)

In fact, half of these customers will abandon their carts as soon as they find out there is a shipping charge.

E-commerce Delivery Stats 

1. E-commerce customers want free and fast shipping according to The Future of Commerce 2021 report by Shopify. (Shopify)

In 2021 speed is everything. Now that the customers have had a taste of faster delivery options, they won’t have their orders delivered within the typical 3-4 day delivery window. 

2. 68% of consumers said fast shipping would lead them to place an online order, according to a February 2021 Digital Commerce 360 survey. (Digital Commerce 360)

Speed, access to funding, faster ways to pay using digital wallets, and more flexible payment options like instalments are all things that e-commerce customers seek.

3. 7-Eleven was the first to successfully complete a Federal Aviation Administration approved drone delivery in July 2015. The retailer partnered with drone operator Flirty to make the delivery. (Capegemini)

Since then, several retailers have pivoted to drone deliveries. 

4. According to a February 2021 Digital Commerce 360/Bizrate Insights survey on multichannel buying, 36% of e-commerce consumers had requested same-day delivery from a web-only business, that’s a 12% increase from August 2020. (Digital Commerce 360)

Some of the stats shared previously point out that most customers are rather more comfortable shopping via desktop than a tablet or a mobile device. 

5. After a bad delivery experience, 72.7% of customers said they are reluctant to shop with an online store again. (RetailWire)

It only makes sense; failing to deliver to the customer’s expectations is a deal-breaker. 

6. The number of shoppers opting for same-day delivery from a traditional store has increased to 26% from 14%. (RetailWire)

Amazon.com’s delivery practices likely have influenced a lot of the changes in consumer attitudes towards shipping.

7. If a competitor offers a faster delivery service 55% of customers will switch to them. (RetailWire)

In the era of same-day and two-hour delivery, 3-4 day delivery windows just may not suffice. 

8. According to a new Loqate Survey report, late deliveries are a concern to 87% of customers, and 41% are hesitant to purchase again from a retailer that delivered their package late. (Chain Store Age)

It is pretty evident that an enjoyable last-mile delivery customer experience is imperative to repeat business.

9. In an analysis of some of its big partner brands that offer both 2-hour delivery and same-day delivery, Ohi discovered that orders delivered with same-day delivery were associated with up to 30% higher repeat purchase rates than standard UPS/FedEx. (Ohi)

In a world where Amazon is offering prime same-day delivery, customers no longer want standard shipping. They want the fastest option available at the checkout.  

10. 57% of 500 respondents of a survey by Sift said they would pay at least 10% extra for eco-friendly packaging/shipping. (Sift)

Even consumers who don’t quite care as much about the environment wish to have their orders delivered via environment-friendly delivery options.

Social Commerce Stats

1. In 2020, social commerce sales in the US were estimated at nearly 27 billion US dollars. By 2025, social commerce is projected to reach 79.6 billion US dollars and account for 5.2 percent of US retail e-commerce sales. (Statista)

Social media is where brands are targeting their audiences because that’s where millennials and Gen Z are found. 

2. 64% of marketers in a global 2021 survey said they planned on increasing their use of Instagram in the near future; 21% said they planned to increase their use of TikTok advertising, meanwhile, 68% said they didn’t intend to use the mobile video sharing app for marketing purposes. (Statista)

Popular social media platforms are growing in terms of size and each platform has a unique audience.

3. 8 in 10 ten US businesses anticipate adopting social commerce within the next three years. (Statista)

57% of the small businesses in the study mentioned they sold via social media, and approximately 71 % are planning to sell on social media within the next 36 months.

4. As many as 36% of internet users i.e. 90.2 million people in the US are social buyers. (Insider Intelligence)

As brands continue to use social media checkout and shopping add-ons, tech-savvy Millennials and Gen Zers who are comfortable with and motivated by influencer content will likely engage with social commerce more frequently.

5. As per a June 2021 survey, 35% of participants said social media ads affected their buying decisions. For Gen Z respondents, the number rose to 75%. (Statista)

Going forward in the post-pandemic settings e-commerce businesses cannot afford to overlook the impact of social media on customer buying behavior.

6.54 % Z shoppers and 58 percent of Millennials believe that social media platforms are more effective than web searches for discovering new products. (Statista)

This survey by Statista was conducted in the United States in May 2021 and comprised more than 2,500 consumers from across the country.

7. In a live stream by Facebook, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Facebook and Instagram Shops have over 300 million visitors annually. (TechRadar)

The number is remarkable provided that Facebook only introduced its Shops a year ago,

8. According to Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg there are more than 1.2 million monthly active Shops on its platforms. (TechRadar)

And the number is expected to increase. 

9. YouTube in Q3 of 2021 enabled video action campaigns on connected TVs to make its ads more shoppable. (Google)

CTV collection is now included in video action campaigns to support advertisers, obtain new customers and boost online sales.

10. In the United States, Facebook and Instagram are the most popular platforms for learning about, discovering, and buying fashion apparel. (Retail Dive)

Over half of users said the content they see in their feeds has compelled them to make a purchase.

11. According to eMarketer, only 18.7% of consumers used a social app’s checkout system to pay for their most recent purchase, while 57.8% concluded the transaction via the retailer’s website. (eMarketer)

Most Americans are using social media to explore and research products. Social commerce is another trend that was set off during the pandemic. 

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At Ohi, we’ve flipped the script for e-commerce fulfillment, transforming it from what is traditionally seen as a cost center into a growth engine. Brands join the Ohi platform to deliver powerfully fast, brand-focused, and memorable post-purchase experiences that enable them to grow. Want to learn more about how Ohi enables instant commerce? Get in touch today.