50+ must-know statistics for your e-commerce strategy

E-commerce trends and market growth

Global retail e-commerce has more than doubled over the past six years, and the trajectory shows no signs of flattening. Mobile shopping, social commerce, and expanding digital buyer populations are reshaping where and how purchases happen, which means your channel strategy needs to account for a much wider range of touchpoints than it did even three years ago.

1. Global retail e-commerce sales reached $6.42 trillion in 2025, up from $3.3 trillion in 2019, and are projected to hit $6.88 trillion in 2026. (Statista)
   
2. Online sales accounted for 20.5% of global retail in 2025 and are projected to reach 21.1% in 2026. (Capital One Shopping)
   
3. An estimated 2.77 billion people shopped online globally in 2025, a figure expected to grow to 2.86 billion in 2026. (eMarketer)
   
4. US social commerce revenues are expected to surpass $100 billion for the first time in 2026. (eMarketer)
   
5. TikTok Shop is projected to reach $23.41 billion in US e-commerce sales in 2026, a 48% increase year-over-year, giving it a larger US e-commerce business than Target, Costco, Best Buy, or Kroger. (eMarketer) 
   
6. Mobile accounted for 59% of worldwide e-commerce sales in 2025, with US mobile retail shoppers spending $577.6 billion, and the global mobile share is projected to reach 67% by 2030. (Capital One Shopping)
   
7. Brand differentiation is the most important driver of long-term retail sales success, accounting for 57% of future growth. (Google)
   
8. Worldwide mobile e-commerce sales totaled $2.51 trillion in 2025, up 21.3% year-over-year. (Capital One Shopping)

Customer experience and buyer behavior

Shoppers arrive at your product pages already partway through their decision-making process, and the information they find, or don’t find, determines whether that process ends in a purchase. The data below shows how buyers research, what builds their confidence, and where poor experiences cost you conversions.

9. The average cart abandonment rate is 70.22%, with extra costs at checkout cited as the top reason by 39% of shoppers, followed by the need to create an account (19%) and a too-long or complicated checkout process (18%). (Baymard Institute)
   
10.  Purchase confidence is 3.2x higher among shoppers who feel they found relevant product information compared to those who did not. (Google)
    
11. 75% of shoppers cross-check multiple sources to verify the product information they find. (Google)
    
12.  For 1 in 3 consumers, lack of knowledge about a product or category is a key barrier to purchase. (Google)
    
13.  Consumers who are highly confident at the point of purchase are 18x more likely to recommend the brand to family or friends than those with low confidence. (Google)
    
14. 55% of consumers rank search engines as their top pre-purchase information source, with Amazon in second place at 35%. (PwC)
    
15. Two-thirds of consumers say they delay or avoid making purchase decisions when faced with too many options or too much information. (Google)
    
16. 82% of consumers would find it helpful if AI allowed them to search for things that are “difficult to describe.” (Google)
    
17. 73% of consumers look for ways to simplify when there is too much information available. (Google)
    
18. 75% of consumers say they want brands to demonstrate that they understand their needs. (Google)

The role of rich media

Shoppers can’t physically handle your products online, so the quality and variety of media on your product pages directly shape how much confidence they have before buying. Video, in particular, has moved from a supporting tactic to one of the highest-returning formats in e-commerce marketing.

19. 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service. (Wyzowl)
    
20. 85% of people have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a video. (Wyzowl)
    
21. 89% of consumers say video quality impacts their trust in a brand. (Wyzowl)
    
22. 49% of marketers say short-form video delivers the highest ROI of any content format they use, making it the most-used and most-invested content format heading into 2026. (HubSpot)
    
23. Among companies using Wistia, videos on homepages, video galleries, and product pages get the highest play rates, with viewers watching about halfway through on average. (Wistia)
    
24. In a Google-commissioned BCG study of 10,000 US shoppers, among those who reported that digital video played a role in their path to purchase, 50% said it made them aware of a product or brand, 45% said it helped them choose which product or brand to buy, 43% said it got them interested in buying a product, and 34% said it prompted them to buy a specific item. (Google)
    
25. YouTube is 1.7x more likely to positively influence brand consideration and 1.6x more likely to positively influence purchase decisions compared to social platforms. (Google)
    
26. When asked how they’d like to learn about a product or service, 63% of consumers say they’d most like to watch a short video — ahead of text-based articles (12%), infographics (7%), ebooks or manuals (4%), webinars (4%), and sales calls (5%). (Wyzowl)

Personalization and the use of AI

Consumer expectations around personalization have moved well ahead of what most businesses currently deliver, and AI is accelerating that gap. The stats below show where the bar is set and what shoppers expect when they interact with a brand that uses AI.

27.  71% of consumers expect businesses to deliver personalized interactions, and 76% get frustrated when those interactions are absent. (McKinsey)
    
28. Companies that deploy personalization at scale generate 40% more revenue than average peers. (McKinsey)
    
29. 50% of consumers now use AI when searching the internet, and of those who have tried AI-powered search, 44% say it has become their primary and preferred source, compared to 31% who still prefer traditional search. (McKinsey)
    
30. AI agents could mediate $3 trillion to $5 trillion of global consumer commerce by 2030, with the US B2C retail market alone representing an opportunity of $900 billion to $1 trillion. (McKinsey)
    
31. 70% of consumers notice a clear gap between companies that use AI well and those that don’t, and 61% say they expect more personalized service when a brand uses AI. (Zendesk)
    
32. 43% of consumers are comfortable using AI chatbots, and 27% of shoppers use a chatbot daily. (Merkle, Tidio)
    
33. 61% of consumers say AI chatbot recommendations frequently or always influence their buying decisions. (Tidio)
    
34. 65% of shoppers who expect some level of personalization would like brands to offer them targeted promotions. (McKinsey)
    
35. 82% of consumers would find it helpful if AI allowed them to search for things that are difficult to describe. (Google)

Customer loyalty

Loyalty is harder to earn and easier to lose than it was five years ago, and the data reflects that shift. Shoppers today have more options, higher expectations, and less patience for friction, which means the brands that retain customers are the ones making every touchpoint count.

36. 46% of shoppers would be more likely to continue shopping with a brand if they receive a personalized website experience. (Merkle)
    
37. 45% of customers say an excellent first purchase experience has the biggest impact on their loyalty to a brand. (Merkle)
    
38. 66% of consumers say mobile app transactions boost their likelihood of making repeat purchases. (Merkle)
    
39. Consumers who are highly confident at the point of purchase are 18x more likely to recommend the brand to family or friends than those with low confidence. (Google)
    
40. 69% of consumers cite fair, competitive pricing as their top reason for repeat purchases, while 81% say they would leave a brand over poor product or service quality. (Adobe)
    
41. 92% of consumers identify as convenience-oriented shoppers, making ease of purchase the single largest loyalty persona group across all demographics. (Adobe)
    
42. More than 55% of US consumers say they feel more connected to brands when shopping on their own websites, and nearly 60% shop directly with brands for exclusive benefits. (eMarketer)

Customer returns

Product returns are among the most expensive and operationally complex challenges in e-commerce, and consumer expectations for the process have never been higher. The data below shows what’s driving returns, what shoppers expect, and where better product content can directly reduce the problem.

43.  Total retail returns in the US are projected to reach $849.9 billion in 2025, with an estimated 19.3% of all online sales returned — more than double the return rate of 8.1% recorded in 2019. (NRF)
    
44.  82% of consumers say free returns are an important consideration when deciding where to shop online, and 9% of all returns are fraudulent. (NRF)
    
45.  Bracketing, purchasing multiple items with the intent to return some, has seen growth among younger consumers, with 51% of Gen Z consumers indicating they engage in this practice. (NRF)
    
46.  84% of global consumers say they will stop shopping at their favorite retailer if stricter returns policies are implemented. (Blue Yonder)
    
47.  45% of consumers say they would be less likely to return a product if more accurate sizing information were provided on the product page. (PwC)
    
48.  45% of returns across all categories stem from size, fit, or color mismatches — expectation gaps that accurate product content and visual media can close before checkout. (NRF)
    
49.  80% of business leaders plan to increase their customer service budgets over the next year. (Zendesk)

Sustainability

Consumer expectations around sustainability have moved well beyond preference; shoppers now factor environmental practices into where they shop, what they pay, and how they approach returns and resale. The data below shows how those expectations are reshaping purchasing behavior across the market.

50.  85% of consumers report experiencing the disruptive effects of climate change firsthand in their daily lives and are prioritizing consumption that integrates sustainability-focused practices. (PwC)
    
51.  Consumers are willing to spend an average of 9.7% more on sustainably produced or sourced goods, even as cost-of-living and inflationary concerns weigh on them. (PwC)
    
52.  55% of shoppers say they are very or somewhat concerned about the environmental impact of returning items. (Blue Yonder)
    
53.  The global secondhand apparel market has reached $393 billion, roughly 10% of total apparel spend, and is growing at 2x the rate of the overall apparel retail market. (ThredUp)
    
54. The US secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $78.8 billion by 2030, growing at an average annual rate of 7.3%, nearly 4x faster than the broader retail clothing market in 2025. (ThredUp)
    
55.  Gen Z and Millennials are expected to drive 71% of all resale market growth through 2030, with new shoppers making up the vast majority of that spending. (ThredUp)

The data across these 55 statistics points to the same reality: your shoppers expect accurate information, relevant experiences, and frictionless buying at every touchpoint. If your product content is incomplete, your personalization is generic, or your channel presence is inconsistent, you’re losing buyers who were already close to making a purchase. 

See how Inriver PIM helps you close those gaps and keep customers coming back.