Engaging in global ecommerce, also known as cross-border or international ecommerce, is a lucrative strategy for many established retailers and brands. Broadening your business presence has many advantages, including a larger customer base, amplified brand awareness, and easier expansion into foreign markets. What’s more, global ecommerce has provided a viable solution for retailers and brands weathering pandemic twists and turns. Indeed, going global has boosted ecommerce sales, uncovered new markets, and spurred long-lasting consumer trends.
But let’s break this down by the numbers: Here’s what retailers and brands need to know.
To start, it would be insufficient to speak of the global ecommerce landscape without considering how worldwide digital connectivity has enabled the marketplace to thrive. Per Statista, 48% of people globally own a smartphone, and 60% have regular Internet access. That access has empowered 80% of consumers to make a purchase online in the last year from an estimated 12-24 million ecommerce businesses.
The result? Global ecommerce is—and remains—a massive opportunity for both burgeoning and established businesses. Consider:
The calamity that was 2020 fueled rapid acceleration of online buying in several countries that had been lagging before the pandemic. In fact, Shopify found that 10 years of ecommerce growth happened in just 90 days during the pandemic. The outcome? Asia-Pacific, China, and India are the new ecommerce markets to watch.
The Top National Markets
Furthermore, consider the following stats from eMarketer:
Asia-Pacific
China
India
Research from the Mastercard Economics Institute found ecommerce in the U.S. only comprised 11% of total retail sales before the pandemic, but it reached a peak of 22% in 2020. Closures of nonessential businesses drove consumers online, where they bought everything from groceries to household necessities to social distancing approved activities. But what happened as the world reopened? Many shoppers have continued buying from online businesses, and ecommerce is now a 17% piece of the pie. Europe showed similar findings at 8%, 12%, and 9%.
Here’s what else is happening in the post-pandemic global ecommerce market:
It’s no secret that ecommerce has been forever changed, but think tank Practical Ecommerce has identified a few trends that will direct the course of its future.
As ecommerce becomes even more widespread, retailers and brands should be prepared to go global if they haven’t already. The data clearly shows rapid ecommerce growth around the world, meaning there’s a major opportunity to cash in on this surging sector of retail.
By guest contributor Taylor Knauf