Sales teams are spending more deliberately than ever, with 49% of sales organizations planning to raise spending on sales technology in 2025 while 12% of B2B buyers still begin purchases without contacting sales. At the same time, CRM is now deeply embedded in execution and forecasting, with 71% of organizations using it to manage pipelines. Between self serve buying and data driven outreach, the 2025 sales picture is less about doing more and more about doing it with tighter coordination and measurement.
Key Takeaways
- The US retail trade sector includes NAICS 44-45; sales cover $7.0 trillion annually in 2022 for NAICS 44-45 retail sales categories reported by Census
- 7.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the global CRM market from 2024 to 2030, indicating sustained market expansion
- US wholesale trade sales were $8.4 trillion in 2023, representing the size of wholesale distribution activity
- $10.5 billion global spending on sales enablement solutions in 2024, reflecting rising budgets for enablement tooling
- 49% of sales organizations plan to increase spending on sales technology in 2025, indicating expected continued investment
- Average cost of CRM ownership is estimated at $400 per user per month in midmarket deployments, reflecting total cost considerations for licensing and operations
- 12% of B2B buyers say they initiate purchases without contacting sales, indicating a growing self-serve buying motion
- In 2024, 78% of consumers reported using mobile to research products before purchase, indicating a sales enablement requirement for digital content
- 70% of B2B buyers use digital content to inform their purchases (from the referenced survey/analysis), demonstrating how buyers engage with non-sales channels.
- 68% of companies use CRM systems as a core system of record for sales, indicating broad adoption of customer data platforms in sales
- 47% of sales leaders say using AI tools has improved the quality of sales outreach, per survey findings reported in enterprise research
- 60% of sales organizations use sales automation tools (e.g., sequences, scheduling, and lead assignment) to standardize outreach
- 5.1 million people were employed in the “Sales and Related Occupations” occupational group in the United States (2022), representing a large labor base supporting sales activities.
- U.S. labor productivity grew by 1.6% in 2023 (nonfarm business sector, output per hour), affecting labor productivity in sales-adjacent roles and operations.
- $2.1 billion was the reported U.S. value of e-commerce fraud losses in 2022 (latest figure in the referenced study period), underscoring risk costs tied to digital sales channels.
Retail and wholesale sales are driving bigger investments in CRM, enablement, and automation as data shows stronger digital and AI adoption.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size5 stats
01
The US retail trade sector includes NAICS 44-45; sales cover $7.0 trillion annually in 2022 for NAICS 44-45 retail sales categories reported by Census[1]
02
7.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the global CRM market from 2024 to 2030, indicating sustained market expansion[2]
03
US wholesale trade sales were $8.4 trillion in 2023, representing the size of wholesale distribution activity[1]
04
1.0% year-over-year growth was recorded in U.S. retail sales in September 2024 (seasonally adjusted), showing continued momentum in retail trade spending.[1]
05
The global sales enablement software market size was valued at $7.8 billion in 2024 (estimate), indicating continued investment in sales tooling.[3]
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the Market Size angle, the data shows a steadily expanding sales ecosystem with the US retail trade totaling $7.0 trillion in 2022 and global CRM growing at a 7.9% CAGR from 2024 to 2030, while wholesale sales reach $8.4 trillion in 2023 and the global sales enablement software market is estimated at $7.8 billion in 2024.
02 · Category
Cost Analysis4 stats
01
$10.5 billion global spending on sales enablement solutions in 2024, reflecting rising budgets for enablement tooling[4]
02
49% of sales organizations plan to increase spending on sales technology in 2025, indicating expected continued investment[4]
03
Average cost of CRM ownership is estimated at $400 per user per month in midmarket deployments, reflecting total cost considerations for licensing and operations[5]
04
Companies using sales automation report 14.2% lower cost-to-serve, based on aggregated results from enterprise sales operations benchmark studies[6]
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Cost analysis shows that sales organizations are continuing to invest in technology, with 49% planning higher sales tech spend in 2025 and CRM ownership averaging $400 per user per month, while sales automation helps cut cost-to-serve by 14.2%.
03 · Category
Industry Trends4 stats
01
12% of B2B buyers say they initiate purchases without contacting sales, indicating a growing self-serve buying motion[4]
02
In 2024, 78% of consumers reported using mobile to research products before purchase, indicating a sales enablement requirement for digital content[7]
03
70% of B2B buyers use digital content to inform their purchases (from the referenced survey/analysis), demonstrating how buyers engage with non-sales channels.[4]
04
43% of sales organizations report that they use AI in some form in sales operations, reflecting growing adoption of AI-driven sales processes.[8]
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends show that buyers increasingly rely on non-sales channels, with 12% of B2B purchases starting without contacting sales and 70% of B2B buyers using digital content to guide decisions, while AI adoption in sales operations reaches 43% as teams enable mobile-first research where 78% of consumers use phones to look up products before buying.
04 · Category
User Adoption8 stats
01
68% of companies use CRM systems as a core system of record for sales, indicating broad adoption of customer data platforms in sales[4]
02
47% of sales leaders say using AI tools has improved the quality of sales outreach, per survey findings reported in enterprise research[8]
03
60% of sales organizations use sales automation tools (e.g., sequences, scheduling, and lead assignment) to standardize outreach[4]
04
58% of sales leaders say they have a formal sales enablement program, indicating institutionalization of enablement[9]
05
71% of organizations use analytics/dashboards to track sales performance, indicating data-driven sales management adoption[10]
06
In 2023, 64% of firms reported using at least one sales automation tool to improve outreach execution (CRM-integrated or standalone)[11]
07
54% of B2B buyers say they prefer to receive answers via video rather than only text, supporting video-based sales enablement[12]
08
71% of sales leaders say they use CRM to manage pipelines and forecast deals, showing operational reliance on CRM data[13]
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
Sales technology adoption is clearly mainstream, with 71% of organizations using CRM for pipeline and forecasting while 71% also rely on analytics and dashboards, showing that sales teams are increasingly standardizing outreach and decision-making through widely used data and enablement tools.
More related reading
05 · Category
Workforce2 stats
01
5.1 million people were employed in the “Sales and Related Occupations” occupational group in the United States (2022), representing a large labor base supporting sales activities.[14]
02
U.S. labor productivity grew by 1.6% in 2023 (nonfarm business sector, output per hour), affecting labor productivity in sales-adjacent roles and operations.[14]
Interpretation
Workforce Interpretation
With 5.1 million people employed in Sales and Related Occupations in the US in 2022, the workforce behind sales remains sizable, and the 1.6% labor productivity growth in 2023 suggests these roles are becoming more productive even as demand for sales capacity continues.
06 · Category
Fraud & Risk1 stats
01
$2.1 billion was the reported U.S. value of e-commerce fraud losses in 2022 (latest figure in the referenced study period), underscoring risk costs tied to digital sales channels.[15]
Interpretation
Fraud & Risk Interpretation
In 2022, reported U.S. e-commerce fraud losses reached $2.1 billion, highlighting that Fraud & Risk remains a major and costly threat to digital sales channels.
07 · Category
Performance Metrics1 stats
01
23% of sales professionals report that they do not have a consistent process for lead follow-up, indicating process gaps that affect conversion rates.[16]
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
In performance metrics for sales, the fact that 23% of sales professionals lack a consistent lead follow-up process signals a measurable conversion drag and a clear area to improve pipeline effectiveness.
08 · Category
Channel Mix1 stats
01
Customer acquisition through paid search accounted for 36% of ecommerce traffic in 2023 (industry measurement), demonstrating spend allocation that supports sales.[17]
Interpretation
Channel Mix Interpretation
In the Channel Mix, paid search drove 36% of ecommerce traffic in 2023, showing that allocating budget to this channel is a major driver of customer acquisition.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Helena Kowalczyk. (2026, February 13). Sales Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/sales-industry-statistics
MLA
Helena Kowalczyk. "Sales Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/sales-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Helena Kowalczyk. 2026. "Sales Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/sales-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
17 sources cited across this report