E-commerce is one of the most lucrative and popular industries in the world. Experts predict that this industry will continue to grow and that 23% of all retail purchases will be made online by 2027. Read on to learn about e-commerce, the market’s growth and consumers’ habits.
Defining e-commerce
E-commerce stands for electronic commerce. The term refers to the process of buying and selling via the internet, or another electronic network.
E-commerce can include the selling, buying or trading of:
- goods
- services
- funds
- or data
There are four main types of e-commerce businesses. These are:
- business-to-business (B2B)
- business-to-consumer (B2C)
- consumer-to-consumer
- consumer-to-business
Online retailers and online gaming platforms are all examples of e-commerces. Most of the time, they follow the B2C e-commerce business model. They compete fiercely against each other to attract customers. They often rely on welcome offers and sales to attract customers.
The best offers and bonuses can often be found in the most competitive industries. Online casinos are on the rise in Canada, they are e-commerces and need to advertise interesting offers to stay relevant in a competitive market. Casino.org ranks the best $5 deposit casinos in Canada, being able to gamble with low stakes is very attractive to potential players so they aren’t committed to staying with an online casino they don’t use often. Other examples include flash sales or prime days organized by other big e-commerce businesses companies like Amazon.
Amazon is primarily a B2C platform as it facilitates businesses’ access to consumers. However, it is also a C2C platform as it allows consumers to sell products to other consumers via Amazon Marketplace. In short, Amazon is both a B2C and a C2C e-commerce business.
Online businesses do not necessarily have to stick to one type of e-commerce business model. Like Amazon, e-commerce’s can mix different business models into one to attract more consumers and private companies.
But how is e-commerce doing this year? Is online commerce growing?
2024 e-commerce statistics
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Here are some of the latest 2024 e-commerce statistics and predictions.
- Most people shop online
Hostinger’s latest report suggests that most people shop online. According to their report, 85.6% of individuals made an online purchase in the month of October 2024. In other words, online shopping is extremely frequent. It has now become the norm for individuals from different age groups and different countries.
- The e-commerce industry is growing this year
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This figure explains why the e-commerce industry is quickly growing. The more people shop online, the more the industry grows. Back in June of 2024, Forbes predicted that e-commerce sales would grow by 8.8% by the end of the year. Forbes experts also predicted that the global e-commerce market would bring in $6.3 trillion USD by the end of 2024.
Considering the success of the e-commerce industry so far, these predictions will likely be correct.
- The e-commerce industry will continue to grow after 2024
E-commerce will likely grow over the next years. After all, the e-commerce market continues to conquer new markets. Year after year, an increasing number of individuals turn to online shopping and virtual transactions. Consumers all over the world are becoming more comfortable with online shopping which boosts the popularity of e-commerce.
In other words, e-commerce is solidifying its customer base. It is not showing any signs of waning or disappearing. Because of its growing popularity and influence, experts predict that the global e-commerce market’s value will exceed $7.9 trillion USD by 2027.
- Reasons why shoppers abandon their online carts in 2024
Hostinger’s most recent report shows that the main cause behind cart abandonment is high prices. Gen Z customers are most likely to abandon their online carts because of high prices. They are closely followed by Millennials and Gen X/Boomers. The second most common reason is high shipping costs and/or long delivery times. This mostly affects Gen Z customers, then Gen X/Boomer customers and, finally, Millennials.
The third most common reason behind cart abandonment is quality concerns. Gen X/Boomer customers are the most likely to abandon their items because of product quality concerns. They are followed by Millennials and, finally, Gen Z customers.
- 34% of shoppers buy online at least once a week
Those who shop online are usually frequent shoppers. Recent reports show that 34% of shoppers in 2024 buy online at least once a week. Experts predict that this figure will grow as more individuals become comfortable with online shopping.
Final thoughts
As recent statistics show, the e-commerce industry continues to grow year after year. It is predicted to expand by 2027 with more individuals shopping online than ever before.
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