Online retail is reshaping how people discover and buy, from trust-building delivery tracking to the influence of customer reviews and personalization. Payment and fraud pressures also matter, including BNPL adoption and returns fraud. Meanwhile, retailers keep investing in cross-border growth and faster services, with more teams rolling out generative AI to streamline operations. This page connects those trends with the metrics that define 2023–2024 performance.
Key Takeaways
- US retail e-commerce sales totaled $1.1 trillion in 2023
- Global e-commerce sales were $5.8 trillion in 2023
- 79% of US shoppers used search engines to discover products in 2024
- 73% of consumers say customer reviews influence their purchasing decisions
- 49% of consumers say they are more likely to buy from brands that personalize product recommendations
- In 2023, 35% of consumers in the EU used online marketplaces for purchases
- In 2024, 48% of retailers planned to expand into new markets via cross-border e-commerce
- Card payments represented 63% of global e-commerce transaction value in 2023
- In 2023, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) accounted for 4.1% of online transactions in the US
- Retailers reported 2.2% of order value lost to returns fraud in 2023
- In 2023, same-day delivery was offered by 28% of top US retailers
- In 2023, 61% of consumers said delivery tracking updates increase trust
- Global e-commerce grew from $4.8 trillion in 2019 to $5.8 trillion in 2023
- 51% of organizations adopted generative AI in 2024, including e-commerce use cases
- PCI DSS compliance reduces the cost of data breaches by an estimated 50% according to Verizon DBIR analysis
In 2023 and 2024, e-commerce surged worldwide, while search, reviews, personalization, and fraud control shaped purchases.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size2 stats
01
US retail e-commerce sales totaled $1.1 trillion in 2023https://www.census.gov/retail/index.html
02
Global e-commerce sales were $5.8 trillion in 2023https://www.businessofapps.com/data/mobile-commerce-statistics/
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the market size category, the data shows online retail is scaling rapidly with US e-commerce reaching $1.1 trillion in 2023 and global e-commerce hitting $5.8 trillion the same year.
02 · Category
Customer Behavior4 stats
01
79% of US shoppers used search engines to discover products in 2024https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-154/consumer-insights/search-that-drives-purchases/
02
73% of consumers say customer reviews influence their purchasing decisionshttps://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/
03
49% of consumers say they are more likely to buy from brands that personalize product recommendationshttps://www.salesforce.com/resources/research-reports/state-of-the-connected-customer/
04
44% of consumers say they have used a discount code or promo in the past monthhttps://www.statista.com/study/44300/consumer-discount-code-statistics/
Interpretation
Customer Behavior Interpretation
For Online Retail customer behavior, shoppers are heavily influenced by discovery and decision signals, with 79% using search engines in 2024 and 73% saying reviews shape what they buy.
03 · Category
Industry Trends2 stats
01
In 2023, 35% of consumers in the EU used online marketplaces for purchaseshttps://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=E-commerce_statistics
02
In 2024, 48% of retailers planned to expand into new markets via cross-border e-commercehttps://www.statista.com/forecasts/1390586/cross-border-e-commerce-retailer-plans-worldwide
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
For industry trends in online retail, the shift from 35% of EU consumers using online marketplaces in 2023 to 48% of retailers planning cross-border expansion in 2024 signals rapidly growing marketplace-led growth and international ambition.
More related reading
04 · Category
Channel & Payments2 stats
01
Card payments represented 63% of global e-commerce transaction value in 2023https://www.worldpay.com/uk/about-us/insights/uk-ecommerce-payments-report
02
In 2023, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) accounted for 4.1% of online transactions in the UShttps://www.chargebacks911.com/research/buy-now-pay-later-trends-2024/
Interpretation
Channel & Payments Interpretation
In the Channel and Payments landscape, card payments are still the dominant method at 63% of global e-commerce transaction value in 2023, while BNPL is a smaller but notable 4.1% of online transactions in the US in 2023.
05 · Category
Operations & Logistics3 stats
01
Retailers reported 2.2% of order value lost to returns fraud in 2023https://www.vera.com/blog/returns-fraud-statistics/
02
In 2023, same-day delivery was offered by 28% of top US retailershttps://www.packagedfacts.com/Same-Day-Delivery-Report/
03
In 2023, 61% of consumers said delivery tracking updates increase trusthttps://www.ipsos.com/en-us
Interpretation
Operations & Logistics Interpretation
For Operations and Logistics, the combination of 28% of top US retailers offering same-day delivery and 61% of consumers trusting brands more when they get delivery tracking updates suggests that faster, more transparent fulfillment is becoming a competitive necessity, especially as retailers still face 2.2% of order value lost to returns fraud in 2023.
06 · Category
Technology & Security7 stats
01
Global e-commerce grew from $4.8 trillion in 2019 to $5.8 trillion in 2023https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/ecommerce/worldwide
02
51% of organizations adopted generative AI in 2024, including e-commerce use caseshttps://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-07-08-gartner-survey-finds-51-percent-of-organizations-are-adopting-generative-ai
03
PCI DSS compliance reduces the cost of data breaches by an estimated 50% according to Verizon DBIR analysishttps://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/
04
Magecart attacks targeted 80,000+ customer accounts across 2023 based on retailer incidents reported by Security teamshttps://www.group-ib.com/resources/magecart/
05
51% of organizations said they reduced cloud costs in 2023 using FinOps practiceshttps://www.coforge.com/insights/finops-state-of-practice/
06
Forrester forecasts global e-commerce conversion rate impact from personalization at 10–20%https://www.forrester.com/report/the-future-of-personalization-in-ecommerce/
07
In 2023, average global mobile site conversion rate was 1.7% according to Lighthouse retail benchmarkshttps://www.lighthouseapp.com/blog/benchmarks/ecommerce-conversion-rate-benchmarks
Interpretation
Technology & Security Interpretation
As global e-commerce rises from $4.8 trillion in 2019 to $5.8 trillion in 2023, technology and security priorities are intensifying, with 51% of organizations adopting generative AI in 2024 alongside relentless threats like Magecart impacting 80,000+ customer accounts in 2023 and data protection gains such as PCI DSS reducing breach costs by an estimated 50%.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Helena Kowalczyk. (2026, February 13). Online Retail Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/online-retail-statistics
MLA
Helena Kowalczyk. "Online Retail Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/online-retail-statistics.
Chicago
Helena Kowalczyk. 2026. "Online Retail Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/online-retail-statistics.
Sources & references
20 datasets cited across this report
+2 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)