A LOOK AT E-COMMERCE IN 2019
E-commerce is continuing to grow year-on-year…
2019 was yet another huge year for the industry, global e-commerce sales increased 18% from 2018 to 2019 reaching $3.5 trillion and China, USA and the UK remained as the top 3 largest markets for online shopping. Mexico, India, Philippines, China and Canada were some of the fastest growing e-commerce markets during 2019 in terms of percentage growth. 40% of the world’s e-commerce sales were made in China alone. At, P2P, A FedEx Company USA is one of our most popular destinations, we sent over 2 million parcels to USA in 2019, that’s a 17% increase from 2018.
It’s evident consumers are increasingly relying on online shopping. E-commerce is offering HUGE opportunity for retailers looking to go global.
TRENDING BEHAVIOURS
Mobile Shopping & Mobile Payments
Mobile commerce has been constantly on the rise, it’s estimated that in 2019 4/5 Americans shopped online and over 50% of them did so on their mobile devices. As for Europe, these numbers are even higher, 64% of Europeans shop online and 55% of them do it on mobile devices. China is the leader of m-commerce, both WeChat and Alipay have over 1 billion users!
Free Shipping
During 2019, most consumers that abandoned a purchase online did so because the retailer didn’t offer free shipping. Free shipping is now becoming a huge factor for the online shopping experience, whether it be unconditional or with a threshold. Jewellery retailers in 2019 offered the most unconditional free shipping, and health and beauty retailers were most likely to offer free shipping with a threshold purchase. E.g. free shipping on all orders above £50. At P2P, A FedEx Company beauty is one of our most popular sectors, we have seen huge growth in this sector from the past two years. From 2018 to 2019 this sector has grown over 70% in volume.
How has the market responded?
A lot happened within the e-commerce industry last year, one trend that stood out from the crowd was shoppable posts. With businesses increasingly using Facebook & Instagram’s ‘buy button’ on their social channels to promote their products, offers and discounts, it’s no surprise to us that more online shoppers are buying directly from social media. 31% of people who used social media clicked to purchase directly from a social post. This figure will most certainly continue to rise as by 2040 it’s estimated that 95% of purchases will be made online.
So, if you’re an e-commerce retailer, ask yourself whether your social media game is up to scratch?
According to Episerver’s Report, 87% of online shoppers now compare what they find on a brand’s site to Amazon. Therefore, it is more important than ever that your e-commerce business does paid social and website ads, to ensure it stays relevant in the marketplace and presentable online.
Here at Coyoto Express, A FedEx Company our new innovative tools will help support e-commerce retailers in understanding the sector trends in social media via sector and country by demonstrating the most engaged content types and themes. Why is this useful? This analysis will help retailers understand what content they should be posting on their social channels; as well as what their competitors post and how well it works for them.
THE FOURTH QUARTER
The fourth quarter of the year is the most lucrative period in the world of retail and e-commerce. Businesses take advantage of increased spending due to events` like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Singles Day and of course Christmas. Like every year, records are broken, global e-commerce sales continue to soar, and more and more consumers are jumping on the online shopping bandwagon.
The Fashion Sector Remains the Leader…
Fashion is one of the most mature e-commerce segments and the internet brought it to a new level. More product range, free shipping, improved delivery services and a hassle-free returns process are all factors that support the upwards trend towards online shopping in the fashion sector. In the fourth quarter of 2019, we see that the fashion sector was the leading B2C e-commerce market and is expected to reach a total global market size of $922 billion, $605 billion will be from Apparel products by the end of 2023.
Don’t Ignore This Market
Is your e-commerce business looking to explore new markets?
The Indian market is not one to ignore. India is the world’s fastest growing e-commerce market due to the increased penetration of internet-enabled devices, detailed advertising, ease of online shopping, advanced payment options and discount offers. The rapid change of customers’ needs are the major growth drivers of the online retail market in India.
More than 84% of India’s e-commerce purchases were made between 27th September and 25th October of 2019. Only 16% of all purchases were made on days without any sale or discount. Indian consumers make full use of these sales periods, especially periods like Diwali and Amazon’s Great Indian Festival. Amazon’s Great Indian Festival in 2019 ran from September 29th till October 4th, where the tech giant offered huge discounts and cashbacks on countless items. India’s online shoppers are increasingly buying fashion products which includes categories such as apparel, footwear, luggage and accessories. Mobile and other consumer electronics like printers and laptops contributed to around 13% of the online sales throughout 2019.