What are the Top e-commerce Countries
Let’s take a look at the top e-commerce countries in the world and what makes them unique as the e-commerce industry grows to $4 trillion in 2025. As we explore these top countries, consider how your organization fits into the e-commerce economies either locally or within your target audience.
Technology has made selling beyond our country boundaries easier than ever. As the e-commerce industry continues to grow, organizations need to review how the global players affect their business plan. While we only think we sell locally, global competition could already be selling against us, making it more challenging to sell. What are you doing to think globally?
China
The #1 e-commerce market in the world ($589B) with 52% of the population access to the Internet. 50% of online shoppers range from 20-29 years old. Chinese will hesitate 20% longer than Europeans when online shopping. Chinese online shoppers require more detailed product pages and more product images as they window shop before buying. Influencer buying is also a big trend with Chinese buyers.
United States
The 2nd largest e-commerce market at $341.7B. Mobile devices account for 25% of all online sales in the US market. Forrester reports, Online sales will grow at an average annual rate of 9.32% over the next five years in the United States. Platforms such as Amazon and eBay provide easy and seamless opportunities for sellers as well as buyers. Product safety continues to dominate online purchase decisions, especially as online shopping expands into international borders.
United Kingdom
3rd largest e-commerce market ($176B) in the world with a population of 63.7M and Internet penetration of 82%. Credit cards make up 40% of all online purchases. Debit cards are also popular along with Paypal. These three payment methods represent 96% of all online transactions. 82% of British Internet users shop regularly online, the highest amount 28 EU states. Free shipping and optional delivery dates continues to influence buyers at the point of sale.
Japan
The 4th largest e-commerce market at $114.4. A very modern infrastructure and technology driven educated population keeps Japan in the top 5 of e-commerce driven countries. Approximately 93% of the 126 milion population live in urban settings. With an online population of 77M people, 50% of all online transactions are conducted via smartphone through debit or credit card transactions.
France
The 5th largest e-commerce economy ($72B) in the world. France is the leading country in Europe when it comes to e-commerce, more so than Germany with 120K commercial websites. An estimated 50 million web users with 8 out of 10 homes with a computer. The most visited websites are marketplaces with Amazon leading as the most visited website in France.
Germany
6th largest e-commerce market at $66.2B. With an Internet penetration of 89%, it is one of the largest number of online users at 63 million people. German consumers are mature & well-informed. They need to be reassured of their personal data, payment security, delivery terms and return policies. It is reported that 82% of Germans read general conditions of sale before buying online.
South Korea
7th largest e-commerce market at $38.8B and third largest in Asia thanks to the fastest Internet speeds and 100% broadband Internet penetration. Approximately 60% of smartphone users shop online. Increases in international purchases have expanded into mainly the US market which is expected to reach $8B by 2018. Koreans shoppers focus on influencer trend buying relying on famous entertainment personalities representing products.
Canada
Canada’s $37B market size keeps them in the top 10 of e-commerce markets. 17% of Canadians make online purchases via mobile devices more than once a week but 67% of the purchases are made in other countries. Credit cards are the primary digital method of choice used by 93% of shoppers. Canada is expected to have approximately 20 million digital buyers by 2018. Having two official languages presents a unique challenges for retailers to customize content.
Russia
9th largest e-Commerce market ($23B) in the global market in 2015. 75% of Russian web users were from the European side. Now has the largest number of connected people in Europe, more than Germany. 70% have Internet access. Russians favor lower prices, easier comparisons, convenience and easy delivery. They expect an option to pay cash on delivery as they don’t trust sites.
Brazil
Biggest Latin American e-commerce economy at $20B, representing 80% of all e-commerce sales in Latin America. An estimated 37 million Brazilians buy online. They prefer lower prices, variety and convenient home delivery. Like Russians, they also prefer to pay cash on delivery as consumers are skeptical of online companies. Free shipping is key in the Brazilian market but are limited to the number of shipping operations.
Frank Trevino
Founder and Managing Partner of ILLUMULUS – Smart Marketing for smart solution. I partner with companies to create a better data-driven Customer Experience (CX) through technology-based marketing solutions. I share my time between Seoul and Los Angeles. You can find me on Linkedin or follow me on Twitter
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