Online Business Stats: Key Figures (2024)

The online world is now more populated than ever due to the SARS-COV-2 pandemic. We've seen the biggest shutdown in decades. Now, the only difference is that we have access to the global web for entertainment.

The Internet is full of all sorts of businesses. In reality, if you don't have an online presence in the modern digital world, you're missing out on a large and profitable demographic.

What better way to immerse yourself in the thriving world of online businesses What about looking at the numbers themselves? That's what we're going to do below, exploring some of the most interesting e-commerce statistics in 2021.

Interesting e-commerce statistics

• 1.79 billion people bought something online last year.
• 88% of all online shoppers research online before buying a product
• 75% of customers expect online help within 5 minutes.
• 70% of small and medium-sized businesses are investing more in their digital presence.
• 70% of people think that digital payment methods will overtake cash and cards by 2030.
• Consumers expect to spend 30 to 50% more on products like groceries.
• 48% of consumers who buy items online are women.
• 36% of all small businesses or personal businesses sell online.

General statistics on online business

As more and more people discovered the convenience of a digital presence for their business, the online environment became the ideal place to do business in 2021.

Let's take a look at some interesting e-commerce statistics that show how far online businesses have evolved.

1. Increasing popularity of online shopping

• Around 1.79 billion different people bought something online last year. (Source:Statista.com)
• The number of people shopping online is constantly increasing year by year.

2. Digital presence of SMEs and online consumers

• 64% of all small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) have a website. Small businesses are the fastest adopters of innovative platforms. (Source: Clutch.co)
• 75% of customers ask for help online within 5 minutes People have always been impatient, but as the trend for instant gratification grows, so do customer expectations. (Source: Dynatrace.com)

3. Online shopper behavior

• Around 88% of consumers research online before buying a product to make sure they're getting a good deal. (Source: Pymnts.com)
• amazon is the giga-corporation that dwarfs all other mega-corporations, with an estimated market capitalization of $1.597 trillion in 2021. In comparison, Apple's market capitalization at the end of fiscal year 2020 was only $65.34 billion. (Source:Statista.com)
• Large-cap e-commerce stores are expected to grow by 50% between 2019 and 2021. Just because Amazon is the biggest e-commerce player doesn't mean it's the only one. (Source:Statista.com)

E-commerce statistics

The world of e-commerce appeared on the scene only a few decades ago, and today it is the world's leading industry. Amazon is by far the biggest company in the world and its owner, Jeff Bezos, is the richest man in the world.

While this position is often questioned, Amazon seems to be on an unstoppable upward trajectory. That being said, Amazon isn't the only player in the game. Let's take a look at a few e-commerce statistics and let's find out everything about e-commerce.

1. Online sales trends for different products

• The volume of online transactions in many retail sectors grew by around 74% between March 2019 and March 2020. (Source: Apnews.com)
• Gardening items saw an increase in demand of around 163% as of March 2019, closely followed by DIY products with 136% growth, home products with 97%, electronics with 26.6%, and telecom services with 18.6%. (Source:Apnews.com)
• Online clothing sales increased by about 34%, while prices fell by about 12%. Pajamas sales increased by 143%. (Source: Adobe.com)
• In April 2020, there was an increase of around 110% in daily online sales. (Source: Adobe.com)
• The buying intentions of consumers in Europe and North America have fallen by 30 to 40%, especially in the fashion and luxury sectors.
• Consumers expect to spend 30 to 50% more on groceries, household products, personal care items, and home entertainment. (Source: McKinsey.com)
• Only 48.7% of people who shop on the Internet are women, making men the majority gender in online shopping. (Source:Pymnts.com)
• The average age of Internet shoppers is around 38.9, while the average age of a store shopper is around 44.8. (Source:Pymnts.com)

2. SME digital investment

• Around 70% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are investing more in their digital presence. (Source: Pymnts.com)
• Around 51% of all businesses interact more with their customers and consumers online. (Source: Dataforgood.fb.com)
• Around 35% of small and medium-sized businesses are actively promoting the use of digital payment methods. (Source:Dataforgood.fb.com)
• Around 36% of all small businesses or personal businesses make their sales on the Internet. (Source:Dataforgood.fb.com)

3. Online payments and sales

More than 50% of small business owners expect an increase in online sales after the pandemic is over. (Source: Pymnts.com)

Future Internet commerce statistics

Those of us who have had the pleasure of spending our days digging through the first Internet data can tell you that things have changed a lot.

At the time, not everything was marked with a red iron. Users enjoyed absolute and total freedom, and exploring what the web had to offer was nowhere near as easy or censored as it is today. Let's take a look at a few internet statistics that show the direction this brave online world will take in the years to come.

1. Global e-commerce sales forecasts

Global e-commerce retail sales are expected to reach $4.9 trillion by 2021. (Source:Statista.com)

2. Emerging trends in online commerce

• Global e-commerce retail sales are expected to reach $4.9 trillion by 2021. (Source: Statista.com)
• Global e-commerce retail sales are expected to account for 17.5% of total retail sales. (Source: Statista.com)
• 73% of customers use multiple channels and websites for their purchases. (Source:HBR.org)
• 35% of people say that trying a product online through augmented reality (AR) would encourage them to make more purchases. (Source:BigCommerce.com)
• THEartificial intelligence is entering e-commerce. (Source:River.co revenue)
• E-commerce and social media hybrids like facebook are booming. (Source:River.co revenue)
• The Big Data is going to change personalization forever. (Source: Kensiumsolutions.com)
• More than 50% of small business owners expect an increase in online sales after the pandemic is over. (Source: Pymnts.com)
• 70% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are investing more in their digital presence. (Source: Pymnts.com)
• Around 51% of all businesses interact more with their customers and consumers online. (Source: Dataforgood.fb.com)
• 35% of small and medium-sized businesses are actively promoting the use of digital payment methods. (Source: dataforgood.fb.com)
• 36% of all small businesses or personal businesses make their sales on the Internet. (Source: dataforgood.fb.com)
• 64% of all small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) have a website. (Source: clutch.co)
• 75% of customers ask for help online within 5 minutes (Source: Dynatrace.com)
• Around 88% of consumers research online before buying a product to make sure they're getting a good deal. (Source: Pymnts.com)
• Large-cap e-commerce stores are expected to grow by 50% between 2019 and 2021. (Source: Statista.com)
• Pajamas sales increased by 143% during the pandemic. (Source: Adobe.com)
• Women represent only 48.7% of people who shop on the Internet. (Source: pymnts.com)
• Most people who shop on the Internet are between the ages of 30 and 39. (Source: pymnts.com)
• Global e-commerce retail sales are expected to reach $4.9 trillion by 2021. (Source: Statista.com)

3. Evolution of technology and personalization

28. The U.S. share of the global retail market is expected to decline by 16.9% in 2020. The United States was once the leading retail country, but its dominance is slowly waning. The global market share of the United States is expected to decline by around 16.9% in 2020, and the future is uncertain. (Source:Statista.com)

• 33% of online shoppers don't return to websites that don't offer a personalized shopping experience. (Source:Shopbase.com)
• The mobile market represented 70% of all online traffic at the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. (Source:10trends.com)
• Voice-assisted purchases are expected to exceed $40 billion in the United States and the United Kingdom by 2022. (Source: Techcrunch.com)
• 70% of people strongly believe that digital payment methods will overtake paper money and traditional cards by 2030. (Source:Washingtonpost.com)

Conclusion

The digital world continues to impress.

With petabytes of data downloaded every day, you can say that the Internet is much like the universe: it's constantly expanding and evolving.

It is interesting to ask to what extent these vast amounts of data are commercial tools, someone's livelihood, or even promising inventions that will reshape the world as we know it.

Certainly, as the online world develops, so do the businesses that set up shop there. It's only a matter of time before most businesses move into their new digital home.