eCommerce Statistics & the Industry’s Vibrant Future

It used to be that if you wanted something really badly, you’d write a letter to the North Pole. Also, ideally you’d be under the age of 12 and well-behaved all year.

These days we have Amazon, Aliexpress. and eBay. You don’t have to write a letter. You don’t have to be good. All you need is a functional credit card and sufficient patience to wait for your merchandise to arrive.

Here’s a quick look at eCommerce statistics that show where we are today and where the industry is headed.

eCommerce Demographics

1. Worldwide, there are about 1.92 billion digital buyers.

(Statista)

If we take into account that the entire world’s population is estimated at 7.7 billion people, these eCommerce stats mean that nearly a quarter of all the people in the world are shopping online. The number is estimated to grow, too, from 1.66 billion in 2016 to 2.14 billion in 2021. New online retail stores are popping up on a daily basis and with good reason - online shopping statistics by year show that people are increasingly starting to favor shopping from the comfort of their PC or smartphone.

2. With nearly 19 transactions per person per year, Gen X is the largest online shopping demographic in the world.

(KPMG)

According to online purchase statistics gathered by KPMG, Gen X (people aged between 38 and 53) are currently on top in terms of online shopping activity, averaging 20% more transactions than millenials (those aged 18-37). Interestingly enough, baby boomers (54-73) have roughly the same number of online shoppers as millenials, and they tend to spend more on individual purchases. In fact, they spend the largest amount of money per transaction of any age group ($203, compared to $190 for Gen X-ers and $173 for millenials).

The reason millennials haven’t overtaken older generations in terms of online shoppers statistics is likely to do with the state of the job market. Many people in this generation are still just hitting the workforce or starting families, so their spending power and priorities tend to be different.

3. Men on average spent nearly $70 dollars more on their latest transaction compared to women.

(KMPG)

Here’s another interesting eCommerce statistic -  while men and women have roughly the same frequency of online shopping, men spend significantly more money per transaction. This eCommerce trend can be attributed to the kinds of goods that men and women tend to shop for on the internet. While women are mostly interested in clothing and cosmetics, as many as 72% of all purchases in the pricey consumer electronics market are made by men.

eCommerce Industry Statistics

4. 14.1% of all global retail sales are eCommerce sales.

(Statista)

According to Statista, the current eCommerce percentage of retail sales is at nearly 15. This number is growing each year, and Statista predicts it will reach 17.5% in 2021 and 22% in 2023. Considering that a quarter of the world’s population is currently shopping online, these predictions seem reasonable, and even a bit on the conservative side.

5. China’s $740 billion eCommerce market makes it the world’s  largest.

(Shopify)

According to the latest Shopify statistics, China is the dominant force in the eCommerce market, with nearly 40% of global online retail revenue.

The United States is in second place with $561 billion, followed by the United Kingdom with $93 billion. UK eCommerce statistics in 2019 make them the leader in online retail when it comes to Europe, followed by Germany with $77 billion and France with $55. Japan also has a sizeable market at $87 billion, as does South Korea with $69 billion. Russia and Brazil rack up disproportionately low numbers, considering their size and population: $19 billion and $16 billion.

6. By 2040, the eCommerce market is predicted to account for 95% of all commerce worldwide.

(NASDAQ)

We’ve seen some interesting eCommerce statistics so far, but how about some wild predictions? According to NASDAQ, by 2040 pretty much all shopping in the world will be done online - providing that we are still here and not wiped out by some sort of super-virus or doomsday AI, that is. While predictions like these seem far-fetched, it’s good to remember that new online shops open daily and eCommerce growth statistics show a rapid rise each year.

7. 80% of internet users in the US will make at least one online purchase by the end of 2019.

(Statista)

Speaking of big eCommerce statistics for 2019, US customers are some of the most active online shoppers in the world. According to Statista, four-fifths of all internet users in the States will buy at least one product during 2019, which is an increase of 8% over the 73% who did so in 2013. The North American market is still behind China when it comes to the overall statistics of online shopping but stats are improving every year. The current eCommerce growth rate is slow but steady.

8. Advertisers increased their YouTube ad spending by 87% in the third quarter of 2019, making it the quickest growing online advertising market during this period.

(Merkle)

Despite the large surge in YouTube’s popularity with top online retailers, Google search is still driving the majority of advertising revenue. Spending on search ads increased 16% year-on-year in 2019, while text ad spending increased 9.5%. Shopping ads increased 24% over 2018, while cost-per-click prices increased by 4.5% globally.

The other big market for advertising investments in Q3 2019 was Amazon Sponsored Products. These keyword- and product-targeted ads saw a 35% increase in advertising spending, accounting for 85% of all Amazon ad spending for the quarter.

eCommerce Sales Statistics

9. eCommerce has an influence on 56% of all in-store purchases in the United States.

(ResearchGate)

According to US eCommerce statistics compiled ResearchGate, over half of all purchases in the States are connected to eCommerce in some way.

These don’t count as online sales statistics - having an influence on sales does not mean that these people are buying online. Instead, there is some sort of online interaction involved in more than half of all purchases being made. These often involve price checking and browsing, but can also refer to customer outreach on social media. In other words, if your brand isn’t in touch with eCommerce trends, both your offline and online retail statistics statistics will suffer.

10. A third of all retail sales in China in 2019 can be attributed to eCommerce.

(Statista)

Not only is China the world’s largest player in the global eCommerce market, it also has the fastest eCommerce growth rate in the world. The percentage of retail sales online has doubled from 15.9% in 2015 to 33% in 2019, and predictions for 2023 show that over two-thirds of all retail sales in China will be made online. According to current online shopping statistics, just under 15% of all worldwide sales are made online, making China twice as developed in this sector compared to the rest of the world. Although eCommerce giants Alibaba and JD.com have dominated the market for the past decade, newer online sales sites such as Pinduoduo have been gaining ground in China lately.

11. In Q3 2019 there were 295 million active PayPal accounts worldwide.

(Statista)

Paypal is one of the leading money transfer systems in the world. It has been steadily growing since it first debuted in 1998, especially since it was acquired by eCommerce giant eBay in 2002. These days, even brick-and-mortar stores across the US have started following retail industry trends and begun accepting PayPal as a payment method. Active user growth has increased from 5 million to 6 million new active users per quarter five years ago to 9 million or 10 million in the last couple of years. Year-over-year numbers increased by 41 million in Q3 2019 compared to Q3 2018.

12. As of Q2 2019, only 2.58% of eCommerce website visits resulted in sales.

(Statista)

We’ve seen plenty of impressive eCommerce statistics so far, but here’s a sobering one. A measly 2.58% globally (and 2.57% in the US) of eCommerce website visits get converted to sales. To make things worse, statistics on online shopping show a trend of decline here. These numbers might look grim for online retail at first glance, but remember that people spend most of their time browsing bargains and comparing prices, without necessarily meaning to buy anything. The decline means people are doing more research before buying.

The effect of eCommerce on sales is more complex than just direct website visit conversions. Even people who are diehard fans of brick-and-mortar stores can be reached using marketing products online. Drawing visitors to your site is important, but finding methods to turn these visits into sales and keeping customers engaged beyond their visit is where the real advertising magic lies.

13. Nearly 70% of all shopping carts were abandoned without a purchase in 2019.

(Statista)

We’ve already mentioned the extremely low number of website visits that get converted to purchases. One important cause for that is shopping cart abandonment. A lot of people browse online stores for research purposes without much intent to buy in the first place. Or they simply get discouraged by shipping fees or the need to create an account or potential security concerns about disclosing credit card-related data. Or maybe they see something cheaper on a competitor’s website. There are a lot of reasons potential digital customers don’t become digital buyers.

The important takeaway is that during the past 10 years the number has only once dipped below 65% (64.76% in 2010) and has been steadily around the 70% mark since 2011. Thus, the question is not if retailers can stop cart abandonment but how to use this information to inform their marketing strategies and convert those lost sales into found ones.

14. 54% of shoppers would consider purchasing previously abandoned cart items if offered a discount on them.

(VWO)

How do retailers deal with cart abandonment? Aside from typical email reminders - which are generally intrusive and can potentially annoy people - some retailers offer free shipping or discount codes for further purchases. However, the best way to improve your eCommerce success rate is to offer customers the shopping cart items at a discounted price. Retargeting is an especially effective tactic with millenials, as 72% of those aged 25 to 34 have said that they would make a purchase if offered previously abandoned items at a lower price.

China’s largest online retailers such as AliBaba and JD.com have known this for a long time, and make an absolute killing during celebrations such as Chinese New Year and Singles Day, when people realize that the items they’ve kept in their abandoned shopping carts are suddenly offered at a discount. Amazon and other Western retailers have been doing the same with Black Friday and Christmas deals.

15. 57% of online shoppers globally made their most recent purchase at an overseas retailer.

(Nielsen)

The data we’ve analyzed so far show that the US is generally following global eCommerce trends - or, rather, setting them alongside China. Here, we have something completely different. Most of the world shops at foreign retailers with some regularity - everywhere except for the United States (29%), Japan (32%), Poland (34%), Argentina (42%), and Brazil (44%). That’s right - less than a third of people in the US trust brands other than local behemoths like eBay and Amazon.

Chinese shopper statistics are surprising: 58% of Chinese shoppers surveyed by Nielsen said their last purchase was from an overseas retailer.

eCommerce Retailer Statistics

16. With $768 billion in gross merchandise value, Alibaba is the world’s largest online retailer.

(Motley Fool)

According to eCommerce stats in 2019, Alibaba is a bigger online market than its six largest competitors combined. Amazon is valued at about $239 billion, JD.com at $215 and eBay at $93 billion. Other top online shopping sites such as Rakuten and Walmart are far behind when it comes to the gross value of merchandise available ($31 and $19 billion), but that is only half of the story.

All of the big eBusiness companies have large and varied inventories. However, Alibaba and its subsidiary Aliexpress literally sell almost everything imaginable - and their inventory includes billions of budget items. While these all count toward gross merchandise value, these sites are slower to turn a revenue profit than sites selling consumer electronics or luxury items. Not that these aren’t sold there as well - but they make up for a much smaller percentage of the overall inventory. That’s why Alibaba leads the most popular shopping sites in terms of gross item value and count, but not necessarily in revenue.

17. Amazon is the world’s most successful online retailer in terms of revenue, with $232.88 billion net revenue in 2018.

(Statista)

The absolute revenue leader in eCommerce worldwide has seen significant growth over the past decade, but especially in the last few years. In 2015, yearly net revenue was $107 billion. It climed to almost $136 in 2016, nearly $178 in 2017, and then almost $233 billion in 2019. Although the company is an international powerhouse when it comes to retail, the primary driver for most of the impressive Amazon statistics is the US market.

Amazon is firmly at the helm when it comes to the top 10 online shopping sites in the USA - ahead of Apple, Walmart, and eBay. More importantly, only $65.85 of the company’s $232.88 billion net revenue for 2018 was earned overseas. That means that around $167 billion, or over 70% of their revenue, stems from the US.

18. 55% of Americans begin their product searches on Amazon.

(ResearchGate)

Speaking of the popularity that Amazon enjoys when it comes to internet shopping, more than half of US respondents in a ResearchGate survey identified Amazon as their default go-to choice for product research before making an online purchase. The ecommerce platform is also often used as a price checking tool, which tends to be unfortunate for retailers who are being compared. Amazon often undercuts its competitors even at a risk of short-term financial loss.

Amazon recent orders give potential buyers a quick overview of all the items they added to their shopping carts so they can quickly determine whether prices have since dropped due to holidays or special promotions. Consistently low prices, consumers’ force of habit, and many quality-of-life features have made Amazon the reference against which other online retailers are measured.

19. Shopify was the world’s fastest growing online store during the past five years.

(WebsiteToolTester)

Are you wondering how to start an online store? Debating which online store creation kit to use? Who is better: Wordpress vs Magento, Shopify vs Bigcommerce? According to WebsiteToolTester, only one of these platforms has been gaining significant market share lately. While BigCommerce and OpenCart mostly showed 0.1% or less growth over the past five years, Shopify increased its market share from just 0.1% in 2014 to 1.7%.

20. The average omnichannel score across online stores globally was 52%.

(Google)

Omnichannel marketing represents an evolution of traditional multichannel marketing. Multichannel marketing refers to communicating with potential and existing customers through several channels at the same time. These can include mailing lists, social networking, company websites, billboards, magazine advertising, and so forth. Retail shopping statistics around the world show us that integrating various customer outreach tactics into a holistic system takes your entire marketing strategy to the next level, and that is what omnichannel marketing is all about.

According to Google’s eCommerce stats, companies are doing a middling job when it comes to applying such strategies effectively. The lowest scores were around the 36% mark, while the highest never quite reached 70% - which shows that online retail stores still have a lot of their work cut out for them. As more and more companies improve their omnichannel marketing strategies and communication between the marketing and sales departments, we can expect these numbers to improve in the future.

21. 80% of customers who stop doing business with a company do so because of bad customer service.

(Hubspot)

There are many reasons people might stop buying products from a company - a drop in product quality, a lack of need for a particular product in the future, an unexpected rise in prices, and so on. However, according to global eCommerce statistics gathered by Hubspot, the primary reason for people to abandon a business is much simpler - unsatisfactory customer service. Four out of five respondents in the survey said that various aspects of bad customer service, such as a lack of knowledge on behalf of the staff, tardiness when answering messages, and unsatisfactory communication about products led them to give up on a company and its products.

This is especially important for eCommerce businesses - companies who have the most sold products online know that constant communication with clients over multiple channels is key to not only keeping them satisfied but engaged and willing to come back for new purchases, as well. Whether through simple multichannel or more advanced sales funnel strategies such as omnichannel marketing, it’s important to keep in mind the importance of having quality communication with your customers.

22. 58% of people shop online because online retail stores are available 24/7.

(KMPG)

One of the primary reasons that more and more brick-and-mortar shops are being replaced by eCommerce stores every day is convenience. In order to go to a traditional store, you have to get into your car and drive somewhere. With online buying sites, things are as simple as dragging whatever you like into your shopping cart with a few mouse clicks, paying for it with your credit card, and you’re done.

A KPMG gave respondents options, and 24/7 availability won out, with nearly 60% of respondents mentioning it as one of the main reasons they shop online. Other notable mentions were the ability to easily do price comparisons (54%), better prices than retail stores (46%), saving time (40%), and the general convenience of not going to shops (39%). Interestingly, only 15% mentioned buying products not otherwise available in their country.

The ability to shop at any time and from anywhere while being able to determine whether you’re being overcharged in the process are the key aspects that drive digital buyers towards online retail these days.

eCommerce user statistics

23. 85% of shoppers prefer researching a product online before buying it over the internet.

(Salesforce)

We’ve already mentioned that research is an important part of the shopping process for a number of online shoppers, and eCommerce statistics from Salesforce further support this point. According to Saleforce stats, 79% of people do product research before buying something in traditional stores, and as many as 85% do so before buying a product online. By far the most common avenue for research is the company website (74%). Therefore, those wondering how to start an online boutique should consider the importance of designing a user-friendly and informative website as a cornerstone of their marketing strategy.

Email queries (43%) are popular with people globally, as they tend to expect better information than they’ll find through social media (38%) or retailers’ mobile apps (36%).

This shows us that there is still plenty of room for increasing user engagement through eCommerce and social networks. It also shows that having clear and easily comparable prices on a vendor site still makes the largest difference when it comes to making it easy for customers to shop at your eStore.

24. 95% of users look to online reviews in order to learn more about a product.

(Baymard Institute)

Another thing customers can do to find out more about your products is something you can’t really influence much: They read peer reviews. All popular online shops such as Amazon and Aliexpress have sections dedicated to user product reviews, most commonly ranked from one to five stars, with reviews ranging from a few words to essays describing the user’s experience with the product. Baymard finds that only 43% of the 60 biggest eCommerce sites give a proper ratings distribution summary showing how many users rated a product with each grade.

This is very important for customers, as browsing hundreds or thousands of reviews can take a long time. People faced with a curated list of only glowing reviews might rightfully get suspicious and consider checking for more reviews on other websites.

Online shopping trends and statistics show that it’s hard to hide a bad product from customers online these days. Businesses looking to prosper in this new climate should be as transparent as possible if they want to survive in this highly competitive market.

25. 23% of potential buyers will abandon a purchase if it requires creating an account.

(VWO)

We’ve established that convenience is a key driver for eCommerce trends. VWO’s survey set out to find out why so many people abandon their shopping carts before they make a purchase. The number one reason was unexpected shipping costs (28%), but 23% of those interviewed said it was the hassle of having to create a new account. Remember - people in the US mostly start their product searches on Amazon, but eCommerce statistics worldwide show a trend of browsing multiple online stores before making a purchase. If a site is not somewhere you regularly buy, you will probably not have an account, and the process of creating one is apparently too much hassle for a lot of people.

Other notable reasons cited by people for abandoning their shopping carts without making a purchase include the fact they were just doing research in the first place (16%), payment security concerns (13%), a long and complicated checkout process (12%), and the inability to find coupon codes (8%).

26. 36% of shoppers cite price as the most important consideration when making a purchase online.

(KMPG)

According to global online shopping statistics by KPMG, price and familiarity with the retailer are the key factors that motivate buyers when making a purchase online.

More than 36% of the shoppers in KPMG’s survey said that finding the best deal was their primary motivation for buying a product, while another 30% mentioned that the most important thing was using a site they know and trust. 17% were mostly concerned with the best delivery options, while stock availability was a key factor for 14%. Peer advice accounted for only 2%, showing that people don’t much care about recommendations from friends, while return policies were the key factor for only 1% of digital buyers interviewed by KPMG.

27. 79% of customers in the US would be more likely to shop online if offered free shipping.

(Walker Sands)

It’s no secret that people like free things. While free shipping isn’t anyone’s top priority when deciding whether to buy a product, it’s certainly a factor that can tip the scales in an online shop’s favor. Top online retailers already know this, so shops like Aliexpress have search filters for free shipping, while Amazon offers free shipping on select orders over $25, and to its Prime subscribers.

When gathering eCommerce statistics for 2018, Walker Sands asked people what sorts of shipping-related practices would make people more likely to buy a product. Free shipping came up 79% of the time. Free returns and exchanges came up second with 54%, while same- and next-day shipping got 42% and 40% of the votes. About 36% of people mentioned easier online returns as one of the main factors, and 21% expected snappy two-hour-or-less shipping times.

28. 33% of people prefer to buy products from companies that they believe to be concerned about the environment or to be doing social good.

(Unilever)

As millenials and younger shoppers slowly get older and start becoming an important part of eCommerce demographics, we can expect certain trends in online shopping to change as well. One such change is increased environmental awareness among young generations. A fifth of those interviewed by Unilever (21%) mentioned that they would actively choose brands that made an effort to show their dedication to the environment on their packaging and in their marketing materials. According to Unilever’s study, as much as 966€ billion in potential profit is awaiting brands that clearly show their dedication to self-sustainable practices and prove that they care about the state of our environment. Whether through packaging materials, shipping methods or the materials used to produce their goods, there are plenty of options for online retail brands - they just need to get creative.

29. 42% of U.S. customers have returned an item bought online within the last six months.

(Narvar)

We’ve established that people like free shipping and they like having the ability to change their mind. As Narvar’s research reveals, changing their mind was quite common with US customers, with nearly half of all respondents in the survey claiming that they returned at least one item bought online within the past half year. Narvar’s online shopper statistics show that 76% would do repeat business with a company if returns and exchanges were made easy, while 69% also mentioned instant refunds. On the other hand, having to pay for return shipping would turn away 74% of customers from doing business with the company again. Additionally, 63% of people mentioned unclear return policies being one of the key factors for not giving a company repeat business.

30. Merchandise returns costing US retailers nearly $369 billion in lost potential sales.

(Appriss)

Just how bad is the financial impact of customer returns? According to eCommerce stats from Appriss, the largest online retailers are losing tons of money. Across the industry, about $369 billion is lost in returned items. If we factor in all of the potential losses from abandoned shopping carts, the number is much higher. Online purchasing stats show annual increases, but in order to maximize their profits, brands need to find new ways of engaging the very large demographic of people who either abandon shopping at the last minute or return their goods for refunds

31. Over 90% of consumers in the US aged between 18 and 54 follow a brand on social media.

(MarketingSherpa)

Social media has become an integral part of many people’s lives in the past decade. It’s not just young people, either. Not anymore. According to MarketingSherpa’s eCommerce industry statistics, 95% of 18- to 34-year-olds, 92% of 35- to 44-year-olds, and 85% of 45- to 54-year-olds say they use social media and follow at least one brand there. The number of social media users drops with age, and the number following brands drops even further. According to the same research, 74% of people aged from 55 to 64 and 71% of those over 65 use social media, but only 35% of the population in those age groups follow a brand there. Women tend to be more active social media users (87% vs 82%) and they also follow brands on social media more often (61% vs 55%)

32. 51% of companies trusted by customers have representatives who are easy to reach.

(KMPG)

Brands achieving the best online sales already know this, but it bears repeating: Building customer trust should be an essential part of any long-term marketing strategy. KPMG sought to discover what creates trust between consumers and brands, so researchers asked people to quantify the importance of several good business practices and rank them in order of importance. For over half of digital buyers, the most important aspect was the ability to reach people within the company easily in case there are questions or problems. Being honest about negative news and events (43%) and transparent about how user data is used (41%) are also very important factors.

KMPG found that 41% of people say they want to be educated about the company’s products, and 39% want companies to ask their customers how to communicate with them. Social responsibility and personalized communication were also valued (27% and 23%).

33. 70% of online shoppers are more likely to buy a product from a brand that they had a good interaction with on social media.

(Sprout Social)

Customer care is an essential part of cultivating relationships with buyers whether they are existing customers or entirely new prospects. eCommerce statistics from Sprout Social show that three out of four shoppers (75%) will be more likely to make an affirmative social media post after a good interaction with a company representative online. Even better, 70% said that this kind of interaction would make them more likely to make a purchase from the retailer in the future. 65% of SproutSocial’s respondents also mentioned that this would create more brand loyalty and 25% said that it would make them less likely to go to a competitor.

34. 83% of US customers want to have regular updates on the status of their online purchases.

(Narvar)

If there’s an easily observable eCommerce trend, it’s that customers love being “in the loop” when shopping and value good communication with retailers throughout the shopping process. According to Narvar research, over four-fifths of shoppers expect to be regularly updated about the status of their purchases online, while only 8% complain about shipment updates happening too often.

Most commonly, shoppers want to know the status of their delivery and where their purchase is at any given time while on the way to them. eCommerce companies making the best online sales right now such as Amazon and Aliexpress have systems in place precisely for this purpose.

The most common way that online retailers handle this demand is by providing shipping numbers so users can track their orders by themselves. However, more advanced systems also exist, such as Amazon’s text tracking, which allows customers to get SMS updates about the status of their shipment.

mCommerce statistics

35. 96% of people in America own a cellphone and 81% have a smartphone.

(Pew Research Center)

Mobile phones have long stopped being a novelty, and these days virtually everyone in the States owns one. More than four-fifths of those phones are smartphones. With the advent of smartphones, the primary use of a phone has shifted. While calling people the traditional way and sending SMS messages are still important aspects of using a cellphone, modern smartphones are really portable computers. People use them to stay in touch with friends on social networks, catch up on the latest news, order food, check the weather forecast, and yes, shop online. Mobile-driven commerce - mCommerce - is in no small part responsible for the amazing eCommerce growth stats over the past decade, and the industry shows no signs of slowing down.

36. By 2021, mCommerce is predicted to account for 72.9% of all eCommerce sales.

(eMarketer)

According to eMarketer’s mobile eCommerce statistics, 2016 was the year mCommerce became responsible for more than half of total eCommerce sales. It has since seen constant growth, with 2019 estimated at 67.2% and 2020 projected at 70.2%.

Mobile-optimized websites and shopping platforms are already mandatory for retailers. Mobile support will only become more important as eCommerce trends further shift toward mobile devices. People love the freedom of shopping on the go. mCommerce’s increasing popularity stems from the fact that it provides that freedom with very few drawbacks.

37. mCommerce sales are estimated at $2.32 trillion.

(eMarketer)

Mobile eCommerce stats  account for the majority of eCommerce retail purchases. That percentage is poised to increase in the future.

Total mCommerce sales value has been estimated by eMarketer at $0.97 trillion in 2016, $1.80 trillion in 2018, and $2.32 in 2019. The company projections call for mCommerce sales of $2.91 in 2020 and as much as $3.56 trillion in 2021.

38. 65% of customers use their mobile phones to make price comparisons while shopping in a physical store.

(KMPG)

Although mobile phones are these days widely used for making purchases online, that is not the only aspect of eCommerce data driven by mobile commerce. KPMG’s retail shopping statistics show that over two-thirds of customers will use online shopping platforms such as Amazon to compare the prices of items that they are currently shopping for in a brick-and-mortar retail store. Other information often looked up by customers includes product specifications (61%), online reviews (49%), product options such as size and color (35%), and store inventory and availability (16%).

Millennials tend to be the generation most prone to using their mobile phones for research while in a physical store (77%). Generation X is a close second with 70%, while only one in two baby boomers tend to whip out the phone while shopping in a brick-and-mortar store (50%).

39. 53% of people shopping on their phones tend to leave websites with loading times greater than three seconds.

(Google)

If we had to summarize the reasons for the growth of the mobile eCommerce market with one word, that word would be convenience. The ability to shop from anywhere, at any time, buying everything from clothing and cosmetics to household tech with only a few taps on one’s smartphone screen is proving to be too tempting for most shoppers to resist.

It’s easy to see, therefore, how poorly optimized websites could throw a wrench into the whole deal.

According to Google’s eCommerce user statistics, mobile shoppers are a fickle and impatient lot. More than half of them are willing to switch websites if their pages take longer than three seconds to load.

People who buy from online business outlets want speed. The problem is, retailers are not able to give it to them quite yet. According to Google, in 2018 the average landing page took a whopping 15 seconds to load. That’s why desktop conversion percentages are still much better compared to smartphones.

40. Customers with a bad mobile website shopping experience are 62% less likely to buy something from the same retailer in the future.

(Google)

We’ve already stressed the importance of mCommerce for retailers. Here’s another tidbit worth remembering: Two-thirds of your customers will probably not buy items from you again if they have an unresolved negative experience while shopping with their smartphone. eCommerce statistics worldwide show that people are placing more and more faith in mobile shopping. Thus, making sure that customer experience on smartphones is up to par should be one of the priorities for online shops in 2020 and onwards.

Fast loading mobile websites, an intuitive and optimized user interface, detailed product information, and a wide selection of payment options are the bare minimum for any retailer’s online shopping platform. While good products and competitive prices are still the most important factors, making sure to have an excellent online shopping platform is instrumental in obtaining new customers and retaining older ones.