Global retail sales are expected to exceed $22 trillion

Retail sales are expected to top $22 trillion this year, eMarketer reports, which is expected to include $1.3 trillion in e-commerce led by China and the United States

Based on the latest eMarketers data, this number is expected to grow by 5.5 percent to reach $28.3 trillion. eMarketer said this is the first forecast for the global retail market and e-commerce retail sales worldwide. This forecast also takes into account the division into 22 countries.

“In terms of retail products and services purchased online, e-commerce will account for 5.9 percent of the total global retail market in 2014, or $1.316 trillion,” the report said. By 2018, this share will increase significantly to 8.8 percent, but retail e-commerce will still represent only a fraction of in-store purchases, even though it will reach $2.5 trillion by the end of our forecast.”

When it comes to e-commerce, the world leaders are China and the United States, which are expected to capture a combined 55 percent of global online retail sales this year. However, this gap is expected to widen over the next five years and China is expected to become the global leader in e-commerce sales.

“By 2018, e-commerce retail sales in China will exceed $1 trillion, accounting for more than 40 percent of total global sales,” the report said. “The United States will continue to be the second-largest e-commerce retail market in 2018, with a total value of almost $500 billion this year, while the United Kingdom will account for about a quarter of that figure, ranking a distant third.”

E-commerce is certainly growing in the U.S. as the numbers continue to outpace the growth seen in stores every year, but eMarketer statistics show that American consumers still appreciate buying products in stores. Most consumers buy products online, but they still choose physical stores to spend their money.

“Approximately 63 percent of the U.S. population will make digital purchases this year, but only 6.5 percent of U.S. retail sales are expected to come from online transactions, rising to 8.9 percent by 2018,” the report said. . “In other words, most American consumers shop online, but more than 10 of every $11 is still spent in stores.”

In comparison, e-commerce in China and the UK accounts for a much higher percentage of total retail sales. UK forecasts for 2014 predict that e-commerce will account for 11.6 per cent of total retail sales. This is almost 3 percent more than in China, where the figure is 8.3 percent.

“Digital buyers, or consumers who shop online at least once a year, will make up only 27.5 percent of China’s population in 2014, while more than 10 percent of all retail purchases will be made online,” eMarketer reports. “This indicates that consumers in China who shop online do so frequently.”