eCommerce Statistics 2021/2022

The 2020 – 2021 period has been quite exciting and eventful for the eCommerce industry. We saw new trends rise and witnessed dramatic changes in consumer behaviour. So if you’re interested in looking back at 2021 with the help of numbers and statistics, look no further. We’ve compiled the most interesting and jaw-dropping eCommerce statistics for 2021/2022. The list will be updated as new data arrives.

A General Look at eCommerce

1. UK eCommerce attracted the most new consumers online in 2020, with 15% of consumers that reported having shopped in 2021 never having purchased anything online before March 2020. Only 9% of online shoppers are new to this activity in the US. (Adobe Digital Economy Index)

2. 22% of consumers have become more comfortable with cross-border shopping since the pandemic. (PayPal)

3. In the UK, the proportion of online retail sales rose up to 35.2% in January 2021, up from 19.5% in January 2020. (Deloitte)

4. US consumers spent $78 billion in March 2021, showing a solid Year-Over-Year (YoY) growth of 49%, the highest growth since July 2020. (Adobe Digital Economy Index)

5. 34% of consumers have bought items online that they hadn’t purchased before the pandemic. (Channel Advisor)

6. Post-pandemic, 45% say they’ll continue utilising curbside pick-up, and another 45% prefer the buy online, pick up/return in-store (BOPIS/BORIS) method. (Dotcom Distribution)

7. 55% of consumers will not purchase from a brand that doesn’t offer free returns.  (Dotcom Distribution)

8. The UK is outgrowing the US in the online shopping space by almost 2 to 1, at 75% YoY in Q1 2021. (Adobe Digital Economy Index)

9. In Q1 2021, the growth of online retail sales in the UK outpaced the US — 66% vs 39%. (Adobe Digital Economy Index)

Social Media and Social Commerce

10. 55% of the global population use social media, and 73.5% follow brands or research brands and products on social media. (Data Reportal)

11. 71% of consumers said that they will be searching for holiday shopping ideas mainly on Instagram. (Fohr)

12. 54.8% of consumers discover new products on social media at least once a month. Although, they’re mainly purchasing through online channels rather than directly through social media channels. (BigCommerce & PayPal)

13. 53% of Gen Zers have researched products on Instagram. (Channel Advisor)

14. 48% of Millennials are interested in trying livestream shopping. (CGS)

eCommerce Personalisation

15.  Key drivers of higher spending include a strong loyalty programme (54%), a visually appealing website (44%), and personalisation such as being shown products in the correct size (36%) or personalisation based on shopping history (33%). (Magento)

16. 26% of North American and European consumers want companies to personalise their experience based on previous purchase history. (moengage)

17. Consumers in North America and Europe want personalised experiences based on their purchase history (26%) and interests (21%). (moengage)

18. 60% of retail and travel companies offer no or only basic personalisation on their websites. (Adobe)

19. For 61% of US consumers, smooth search and navigation experiences are essential components of online shopping. (S&P Global Market Intelligence)

20. 71% of US consumers expect to receive personalised experiences, and 78% said personalised content made them more likely to repurchase. (McKinsey & Company)

Data Protection and Data Privacy

21. Data security is the most important aspect of consumers’ trust in a brand or platform. Security incidents in eCommerce grew by an alarming 20% in 2020 for 69% of the businesses surveyed. (Webscale)

22. 59% of consumers have become more protective of their personal data in the last six months. (PwC)

23. Worldwide, 33% of consumers are worried about how companies use their personal data online. In the UK and USA, that’s 41.2% and 40.9%, respectively. (Data Reportal)

Digital Wallets

24. Globally, 35.2% of consumers prefer to use digital wallets in online shopping as opposed to 45.8% in the UK. (BigCommerce & PayPal)

25. More than 80% of Americans used some form of digital payment in 2021. (McKinsey & Company)

26. Nearly 60% of the world’s population will use digital wallets by 2025. (boku)

Online Grocery Shopping

27. More than 65% of UK consumers report shopping online for groceries monthly. Pre-pandemic, only 38% of UK consumers were shopping for groceries twice per week. (Adobe Digital Economy Index)

28. More than 50% of UK consumers expect to use online grocery shopping more after COVID-19 than before. (McKinsey & Company)

29. In the US, online grocery shopping sales saw a 17% boost in March 2021.  (Adobe Digital Economy Index)

Mobile Commerce (mCommerce)

30. Unique mobile device users make 67% of the world population. (Data Reportal)

31. 41% of consumers shop daily or weekly via their smartphones. (PwC)

32. Across Asia-Pacific, almost one-third of Gen Zers spend six hours or longer a day on their phones, a considerably higher share than millennials (22%) and Gen Xers (10%).  (McKinsey & Company)

33. In Q1 2021, only 40% of US eCommerce sales were made via smartphones. In the UK, that was 49%. (Adobe Digital Economy Index)

Sustainability and Equality

34. 52% of consumers are more eco-friendly compared to six months ago. (PwC)

35. Gen Zers are five times more likely than Baby Boomers to use second-hand sites like eBay or ThredUp for non-essential items. (CGS)

36. For 42% of consumers, sustainable packaging was the factor most likely to compel online shoppers to purchase from a brand again in the future. (Dotcom Distribution)

37. 53% of consumers are more likely to shop from a business that supports diversity, racial and social justice initiatives. Of this 53%, 69% are aged 18-29. (Dotcom Distribution)

38. It’s essential that retailers’ brand values, such as sustainability and ethically sourced materials, align with their own for 57% of consumers.  (Oracle)

39. 69% say it is important or very important that retailers have good environmental credentials – and 49% will even pay more if a brand is environmentally friendly. (Magento)

Get Your eCommerce Business to the Next Level with Segmentify

Understanding the data will help you build better and more concrete strategies for your eCommerce business. And you know what else will give you an edge in eCommerce? Working with Segmentify.

Segmentify is an intelligent personalisation platform that uses machine-learning backed algorithms that work in real-time to learn from your customers’ actions. As a result, our algorithms match your customers with the perfect products at the perfect time.

You saw how much importance customers put on personalised recommendations through this list. So why not work with a company that excels at it?