Global e-commerce is booming despite pandemic

Salesforce
(Image credit: Salesforce)

Global e-commerce is continuing to grow at a rapid rate with the world’s digital traffic expanding by 27% year-on-year, according to the latest data from Salesforce.

Despite, and perhaps because of the ongoing pandemic global the convenience offered by digital shopping is resulting in booming sales, the report suggests, with figures indicating a growth of 58% overall.

Breaking the figure down into geographical regions saw the US boosting its digital commerce output by 45%, the Netherlands by a whopping 108% and Canada by an equally impressive 111%. The UK also fared well, recording e-commerce growth of 91%.

The figures come from the quarterly Salesforce shopping index, which measures the shopping habits of over a billion people. The data is collected using Salesforce Commerce Cloud and offers business owners an insight into digital commerce trends. The stats also indicated that global shopper spend has increased by 31% year-on-year too.

Salesforce data

Salesforce pulls its data from over 51 countries, keeping the emphasis on 11 core markets that include the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and the Nordic territories. The first quarter report homes in on 1,989 digital commerce websites and no less than 1.2 billion shoppers accounting for 22 billion visits.

Business owners can draw on the report to glean more details on the means with which their digital customers are shopping online. The report shows a 34% year-on-year rise of computer usage with customers who prefer mobile devices rising 59% for the same period globally.

The latest report also reveals that e-commerce conversion rates differ wildly depending on the territory. The UK gains the highest conversion rate at 3.5%, while Spain only achieved 1% for its digital conversion rate. The US market sat in the middle with 2.5%. 

The figures point to sites that use machine learning and AI-powered e-commerce applications as tending to gain a competitive advantage for shoppers due to their more user-enhanced functionality.

Rob Clymo

Rob Clymo has been a tech journalist for more years than he can actually remember, having started out in the wacky world of print magazines before discovering the power of the internet. Since he's been all-digital he has run the Innovation channel during a few years at Microsoft as well as turning out regular news, reviews, features and other content for the likes of TechRadar, TechRadar Pro, Tom's Guide, Fit&Well, Gizmodo, Shortlist, Automotive Interiors World, Automotive Testing Technology International, Future of Transportation and Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International. In the rare moments he's not working he's usually out and about on one of numerous e-bikes in his collection.