Global e-commerce sales hit $25.6 trillion in 2018, equivalent to 30 percent of global GDP that year and an 8 percent increase from 2017, according to the latest available estimates released by the UN’s trade and development body, UNCTAD on Monday.
The information was revealed in a report released at the start of UNCTAD’s eWeek online event, which will explore digital solutions and policies to help the world recover from the coronavirus crisis, said a press release from UNCTAD.
The online event, featuring dialogues among ministers, heads of international organizations, business executives and civil society representatives, will go on until May 1.
However, Shamika Sirimanne, director of technology and logistics, UNCTAD, said “The coronavirus crisis has accelerated the uptake of digital solutions, tools and services, but the overall impact on the value of e-commerce in 2020 is still hard to predict.”
According to the UNCTAD analysis, the estimated 2018
e-commerce sales value includes business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) sales.
The accumulated B2B and B2C sales were equivalent to 30 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018, UNCTAD says.
UNCTAD said the 2017 value of global e-commerce was estimated at $23.8 trillion, based on a revised methodology.
Top countries in e-commerce sales
The United States of America ($8,640bn), Japan ($3,280bn), China ($2,304bn), Korea (Rep) ($1,364bn), and United Kingdom ($918bn) occupied the first top five positions respectively in e-commerce sales in 2018.
Meanwhile, France, Germany, Italy, Australia and Span are the second top five countries in e-commerce sales, said UNCTAD.
The value of global B2B e-commerce in 2018 was $21 trillion, representing 83 percent of all e-commerce, comprising both sales on online market platforms and electronic data interchange transactions.
The leading B2C e-commerce companies are based mostly in China and the United States.
