The significant increase in e-commerce continued throughout 2021, after the peak of growth reached in 2020, and continues with a notable increase in the value of online sales, despite the relaxation of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries, according to new figures from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development).
According to the Agency, the proportion of Internet users who made online purchases increase from 53% (2019) to 60% (2020/21)), in 66 countries with available statistics.
This trend varies from country to country. UNCTAD noted that many developed countries already had relatively high levels of online shopping (more than 50% of internet users) before the pandemic, while most developing countries had lower acceptance of consumer e-commerce.
For UNCTAD, then, the The largest increases occurred in several developing countriesNamely, in the United Arab Emirates, the proportion of internet users who purchased online almost doubled from 27% in 2019 to 63% in 2020; in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the share tripled, reaching 45% in 2020, and in Uzbekistan it rose from 4% in 2018 to 11% in 2020. In Thailand, the 16 percentage point increase meant that more than half of internet users (56%) shopped online in 2020.
Among developed countries, the largest increases were seen in Greece, Ireland, Hungary and Romania.
In parallel with the growth of e-commerce, UNCTAD explained: “Countries differ greatly in the degree of digitalization and their ability to quickly resort to digital technologies to mitigate economic disruptions.” In this regard, he detailed that online purchases remain lowest in El Salvador (1% of Internet users), Azerbaijan (5%), Uzbekistan (11%) and Colombia (17%), according to data from the 66 countries covered.
retail sales
UNCTAD highlighted the situation of retail sales in seven countries, which together comprise about half of global GDP (including the United States and China), There, “online retail sales increased substantially from about USD 2 trillion in 2019 (before the pandemic), to about USD 2.5 trillion in 2020 and USD 2.9 trillion in 2021.” In detail,China accounts for more than half of online retail sales in these countries and United States another 30%. They are joined by, Singapore, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Korea (Rep.)
The United Nations also indicated that “the largest online platforms benefit the most.” In particular, of the 13 major consumer-focused e-commerce companies, Alibaba, Amazon, JD.com and Pinduoduo They increased their revenue by 70% between 2019 and 2021, and their share of total sales rose from around 75% in 2018 and 2019 to more than 80% in 2020 and 2021.
More statistics
Reflecting on the developments in e-commerce, UNCTAD noted that “these statistics only provide a partial perspective on the evolution of e-commerce during the pandemic.” It said that more data on business-to-consumer and business-to-business e-commerce and cross-border digital trade are needed to provide information on more countries, “especially developing nations,” it said. There is more work to be done to reduce divisions and combat inequalities. For this reason, UNCTAD, in collaboration with eTrade for all and other partners organized the E-commerce week in Geneva and simultaneously online, from 25 to 29 April 2022.- (UNCTAD Press Release) (E-commerce week 2022)
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