Global online retail sales are growing and is estimated to reach 8.8% of total retail spending in 2018 as compared to 7.4% in 2016. In terms of country, UK has the highest retail E-commerce sales as %age of total retail sales (15.6%) , followed by China (13.8%), Norway (11.5%), Finland (10.8%) and South Korea (10.5%). Check out our infographic “Globe Online Retail Spending” for latest statistics and trends.
Estimated online retail sales worldwide
| Year | Retail Sales (In trillion USD) | %age of total retail sales |
| 2014 | $1,316 | 5.9% |
| 2015 | $1,592 | 6.7% |
| 2016 | $1,888 | 7.4% |
| 2017 | $2,197 | 8.2% |
| 2018 | $2,489 | 8.8% |
Digital Buyers penetration Worldwide
| Year | %age of total internet population |
| 2014 | 42.7% |
| 2015 | 44.3% |
| 2016 | 45.4% |
| 2017 | 46.4% |
| 2018 | 47.3% |
Top 10 countries with retail E-commerce sales as %age of total retail sales
| Country | E-commerce retail sales as %age of total retail sales | |||
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| UK | 14.4% | 15.6% | 16.9% | 18.0% |
| China | 12.0% | 13.8% | 15.5% | 16.6% |
| Norway | 10.7% | 11.5% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| Finland | 10.4% | 10.8% | 11.2% | 11.5% |
| South Korea | 9.8% | 10.5% | 11.3% | 12.0% |
| Denmark | 9.3% | 9.9% | 10.4% | 10.8% |
| Germany | 8.4% | 9.4% | 10.4% | 11.2% |
| US | 7.1% | 7.7% | 8.3% | 8.9% |
| Canada | 5.9% | 6.6% | 7.4% | 8.2% |
| Japan | 5.4% | 5.8% | 6.2% | 6.7% |
%age of E-commerce Traffic and Sales by Device
| Device | %age of E-commerce traffic | %age of Retail Sales |
| PC | 53.9% | 76.9% |
| Smartphone | 33.7% | 10.7% |
| Tablet | 12.4% | 12.4% |
Nearly One in Four online shoppers shop online at least once a week.
| Gender | Frequent (Shop at least once per week) | Occasional (Shop at least once per month) | Infrequent (Shop at least once per year) |
| Male | 30% | 32% | 38% |
| Female | 18% | 40% | 42% |
Online Shopping Frequency ( By age)
| By Age | Frequent (Shop at least once per week) | Occasional (Shop at least once per month) | Infrequent (Shop at least once per year) |
| 18-29 | 35% | 41% | 24% |
| 30-39 | 37% | 35% | 28% |
| 40-49 | 23% | 35% | 42% |
| 50-64 | 17% | 38% | 45% |
| 65+ | 11% | 31% | 58% |
Top Countries by average e-commerce revenue by online shopper
| Country | Average revenue per online shopper |
| United States | $1,804 |
| United Kingdom | $1,629 |
| Sweden | $1,446 |
| France | $1,228 |
| Germany | $1,064 |
| Japan | $968 |
| Spain | $849 |
| China | $626 |
| Russia | $396 |
| Brazil | $350 |
