Online share of retail sales jumps to 19% amid lockdowns: U.N.
Reuters
Published May 03, 2021 01:05AM ET
Updated May 03, 2021 01:30AM ET
ZURICH (Reuters) - Online sales accounted for nearly a fifth of total retail turnover last year as lockdowns to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic fuelled a boom in e-commerce, a United Nations study released on Monday showed.
Online sales accounted for 19% of overall retail sales in 2020, up from 16% a year earlier, according to estimates from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) based on national statistical offices in major economies.
South Korea reported the highest share at 25.9%, up from 20.8% the year before. China had a 24.9% share, Britain 23.3% and the United States 14.0%.
Global e-commerce sales rose 4% to $26.7 trillion in 2019, according to the latest estimates available, UNCTAD said. This included business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) sales, and was equivalent to 30% of global economic output that year.
The pandemic led to mixed fortunes for leading B2C e-commerce companies in 2020, according to the report.
Data for the top 13 e-commerce firms, 11 of which are from China and the United States, showed a notable reversal of fortunes for platform companies offering services such as ride hailing and travel, which saw sharp declines in gross merchandise volume (GMV).
"For instance, Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) fell from 5th place in 2019 rankings to 11th in 2020, Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG) from 6th to 12th and Airbnb, which launched its initial public offering in 2020, from 11th to 13th," it said.
China's Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) remained atop the rankings by GMV, followed by Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) in the United States.
Despite the drop at services companies, total GMV for the top 13 B2C e-commerce companies rose by 20.5% to $2.9 trillion in 2020, outpacing the 17.9% gain in 2019.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.