It’s not surprising that ecommerce skyrocketed in 2020 as consumers turned to their devices for their grocery, apparel, and home furnishing purchases. The convenience of ecommerce, combined with this change in consumer behavior, reflects a stronger demand for online shopping throughout the pandemic. 

Below, we dive into ecommerce industry statistics, detailing how they’ve changed as a result of ecommerce trends that grew during the pandemic.

US retail ecommerce sales will grow 16.1%, reaching $1.06 trillion in 2022.

Insider Intelligence forecast

Ecommerce Sales Statistics

Tech-savvy consumers looking for quick, seamless purchasing options will continue to lean on ecommerce throughout the next few years—and more consumers will jump on the bandwagon. We forecast US retail ecommerce sales will grow 16.1%, reaching $1.06 trillion in 2022.

Business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce statistics also show continued growth in 2022. Seemingly every aspect of business was moved or accelerated towards a digital structure amid the pandemic, including B2B communications. New B2B ecommerce trends are allowing companies to lower marketing expenses, better manage suppliers and customers, and boost sales engagement.

As online business trends continue to play a role in everyday B2B operations, we forecast B2B ecommerce site sales will reach nearly $1.77 trillion in 2022, a 12% increase from a year prior.

B2B ecommerce site sales will reach over $1.67 trillion in 2022.  - Insider Intelligence
B2B ecommerce site sales will reach over $1.67 trillion in 2022. Insider Intelligence

Amazon Ecommerce Statistics

Amazon’s influence in the ecommerce space is unmatched. The etailer boasts nearly 40% of all US ecommerce sales. Its US ecommerce sales will grow by 15.3% this year, reaching more than $3.6 billion. 

We expect Amazon’s fastest-growing category this year will be food and beverage, with a nearly 25% increase in ecommerce sales year-over-year (YoY). With Amazon dominating the online grocery space, its digital grocery footprint will continue to propel the company forward in the ecommerce industry.

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Amazon is dominating ecommerce sales across all categories. - Insider Intelligence
Amazon is dominating ecommerce sales across all categories. Insider Intelligence

Ecommerce Category Statistics

Last year, many consumers emerged from their pandemic cocoons with wants and needs for new clothing—driving ecommerce sales growth for apparel and accessories. However, as this category inches toward being an ecommerce-majority category, its share of total ecommerce sales will plateau in 2022 and 2023.

While apparel will be the fastest-growing category, consumers will still continue to purchase items for entertainment. Two majority categories that will continue to see demand include books, music, and video (where ecommerce sales will amount to 69.1% of total retail sales) and computer and consumer electronics (53.2% of total retail sales).

Ecommerce Forecast 2022

The year ahead will bring about ecommerce milestones sooner than we expected. We expect US ecommerce sales will cross $1 trillion for the first time in 2022. Prior to the pandemic, we did not forecast ecommerce reaching this milestone until 2024.

Worldwide, we estimate ecommerce sales to reach $5 trillion in 2022 and $6 trillion by 2024. 

Finally, after a decade of unbelievable expansion in digital shopping, China’s sales increases are expected to settle into globally normal levels going forward. Ecommerce growth in China will decline to 13.0% in 2022 due to a slowing economy (especially slower retail growth), and a renewed focus on brick-and-mortar.