Digging into eCommerce Statistics for 2021 – Part 1/2

ecommerce statistics

Data are powerful and their history starts many years before.

About 2006 the expression ‘’Data is the new oil’’ appeared. We all understand the power of oil and how valuable it is. Oil is a natural resource that decreases in quantity and once it is used, it’s gone.

Data is more than that – they are  limitless in volume, quantity, and availability. Even if you don’t want to, they can double in size in just few hours. And it’s not one-off like oil, data can be reused again and again.

Like oil, data can be dirty, but unlike oil, they can be cleansed with more data.( Forbes)

Data are a collection of information but without the appropriate processing they are not valuable at all.

Just as oil needs some procedures before it can be used so do data.

On eCommerce a lot of surveys, research and questionaries at e-shop owners and consumers took place. With technology evolution you can monitor even your customers’ behavior and this can help you earn useful insights and eventually turn your data into sales.

Research centers transformed all these data into visual charts.

Below you will find 10 up-to-date eCommerce statistics to take advantage of them!

Let’s get started! ▶️


eCommerce Stat #1: Global B2C eCommerce sales are expected to reach $4.5 trillion by 2021

In other words… If you don’t have an online store yet, you are very close to lose a big opportunity.

This number indicates how important it is to adapt quickly to the new markets – to be more specific- to the online market. Of course, this number didn’t just appear out of the blue. Instead, it is gradually increasing year by year, as we can see from the chart below:

eCommerce sales chart

Worldwide, there are between 12M to 24M eCommerce sites and new ones are created every day.

Of course, according to eCommerce Statistics, there are too many small businesses without a website. Either because they think that it is not necessary for them, or they are not aware of the creation procedure. If you are one of them, you can build your own eCommerce business using our guide!


eCommerce Stat #2: 80% of people stop buying from an e-shop because of poor customer experience.

The percentage is high because the consumer response is important.

Forbes describes the customer experience as a cumulative impact of multiple touchpoints. During a customer journey, the touchpoints are many and a good company which targets their customers should know how their consumers behave. Having this data, you can proceed to changes which will create a better customer experience and make visitors return to your website.

Poor customer experience can put your business in danger and leave you many steps behind your competitors.

In fact, according to Cake…

statistic for personalized experience

Invest in customer experience and lead your business to gain returning customers and increase its revenue.

There are many ways to improve your website’s customer experience. Start with personalization. Treating each customer as unique is something that your clients are going to love.😍

Did you know that 80% of online shoppers and 64% of mobile shoppers believe new technologies improve their eCommerce experiences?! (National Retail Federation, 2019)

AI and data mining are part of these new technologies and appear on eCommerce in the form of personalized product recommendations. Reccodo can help you suggest to your customers relative products that meet their needs and interests.


eCommerce Stat #3:  58% of online shoppers ordered more online in the end of 2020 and this trend will continue in 2021

The year of 2020 was particular, not only for people but also for eCommerce. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the physical stores stayed closed for a long time. Business owners turned to online channels, either on their pre-existed e-shops or created new ones.

Statistics from Econsultancy and Marketing Week suggest that lockdown created an urgency for digital transformation.

lockdown eCommerce statements

As you can notice from the chart, 96% of the respondent organizations agree that the lockdown has increased the need to become digital. From my point of view, this digital transformation should have started many years ago, just to be adapted by businesses in a smoother manner.


eCommerce Stat #4: Consumers say their main motivation for shopping online is the ability to shop 24/7

Online shopping has the power of convenience!

Nowadays, people don’t have time to go shopping. As the working hours have increased and the daily rhythms have become quicker, a big number of the population returns home after the stores are closed. Online shopping is the best solution for them. As you can see from the eCommerce statistics chart below, the ability to shop 24/7 as a motivation for online shopping is in the first place.

online shopping motivations

Due to the pandemic, this percentage tends to increase. Physical stores remain closed, as a result, eCommerce is the main shopping option.

💡Useful Insight: According to Statista, on-site search and navigation are the most important site elements for online shoppers. Do not just create an e-shop. Make it valuable!


eCommerce Stat #5: Free shipping is the most important factor for consumers when deciding from which retailer to make a purchase

In many cases consumers reach the checkout page and then abandon their carts. This is not pleasant, neither for the user nor for the shop owner.

Why is this happening?

According to eCommerce statistics, there are many reasons for the abandonment. Checkout process should be transparent and straightforward. Don’t show a bunch of extra shipping costs and taxes at the last step. And of course, if you want to have low prices avoid bringing the financial balance with higher shipping costs.

cart abandonment reasons

Keep it simple. You want satisfied customers who will return to you again and again!

To be continued…

‼️ Key take away Infographic !!

eCommerce infographic

Afroditi Tsaparoglou   

Sales Executive at Reccodo    

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