27 eCommerce Statistics – How Shoppers Behave [2026 – 2028]
ECommerce statistics show us that online buying keeps on growing, especially at the end of 2025. Moving on, we see a big change in the day-to-day journey of what people buy, how and when, and from which online retailers.
Let’s dive in to see the numbers behind this trend, focus on the buyer’s behavior, and what that means for online businesses.
Key eCommerce Trends & Facts [2023-2025]
- Digital wallets accounted for 50% of global eCommerce spend in 2023
- US retail eCommerce sales were $310.3B (seasonally adjusted) in Q3 2025
- The Philippines recorded $17B in eCommerce GMV in 2023
- Colombia’s eCommerce sales surpassed COP 105 trillion in 2024
- 63.5% of people in Macedonia ordered/bought online in the last 12 months
- Digital wallet transactions grew 62% year over year in Q3 2023
Global eCommerce Statistics
At a high level, numbers can look steady, but payment habits and shopping journeys are still shifting. The data below shows what’s becoming normal worldwide.
1. Digital wallets reached $13.9T in transaction value in 2023.
When wallet payments become the default, customers expect the purchase to feel fast, which is one of the clearer eCommerce payment trends right now. That means payment issues often show up after checkout, like refunds and disputes.
It also means payment questions land on support teams more often, even when the “payment” happened inside a wallet app.
Source: Worldpay Global Payments Report 2024
2. Digital wallets accounted for 50% of global eCommerce spend in 2023.
According to these eCommerce statistics of 2023, about half of all spend was from digital wallets. With so much online spend moving through wallets, customers decide faster at checkout. A customer may not be comparing card fields anymore. They are deciding whether they feel safe completing a purchase in one tap.
That usually increases the need for clear policies, fast confirmations, and clean handoffs between support and finance.
Source: Worldpay Global Payments Report 2024
3. 97% of commerce organizations are considering AI capabilities.
Based on these trends in eCommerce, a whopping 97% of organizations conisder AI capabilities. A shift like this is changing how commerce work gets done, especially in fraud review, customer service triage, and catalog data quality. But this does not mean people disappear from the process. Instead, teams often spend more time setting rules, checking results, and handling the tricky cases.
Source: Salesforce, State of Commerce (Third Edition)
4. 17% of eCommerce orders were influenced by artificial intelligence in Q3 2023.
When “AI-influenced” shopping rises, customers can follow more varied paths to a purchase. That can make support tickets harder, because agents may need more context on what the customer saw, clicked, and applied at checkout.
It also increases the value of clean documentation and consistent tagging across tools, especially as B2C eCommerce trends show a shift toward more personalized journeys.
Source: Salesforce, State of Commerce (Third Edition)
5. Digital wallet transactions grew 62% year over year in Q3 2023.
Fast payment growth can shift the workload behind the scenes, like more payout tracking, more refund cases, and more customer questions about timing.
It is also a reminder that payment mix can change quickly, even if headline revenue looks stable. These eCommerce statistics show a growth of about 62% over the past few years.
Source: Salesforce, State of Commerce (Third Edition)
6. Video commerce accounted for 20% of eCommerce GMV in Southeast Asia in 2024.
As gross merchandise value (GMV) is the total value of goods sold, a share this large suggests video is driving a meaningful chunk of demand. Video-led buying can create sharp spikes and more “explain this order” contacts, since purchases are tied to content claims, influencer promos, and time-based offers.
Teams often feel this as more checks on product content and more post-purchase support questions.
Source: Bain, e-Conomy SEA 2024 report
eCommerce Statistics by Country
These figures help show where online buying is common and how fast markets are growing. They also hint at what customers may expect from support and delivery updates, which is why this data can be useful context.
7. US retail eCommerce sales rose $310.3B (seasonally adjusted) in Q3 2025.
At this scale, eCommerce statistics from 2025 show eCommerce is not a side channel. It is a steady operating system. The workload shows up in fulfillment coordination, customer service consistency, and payments operations.
It also helps explain why many commerce orgs split work into specialist roles instead of one general “eCommerce” function.
Source: US Census Bureau (Quarterly Retail ECommerce Sales, Q3 2025)
8. US eCommerce sales rose 5.1% year over year in Q3 2025.
The data shows that eCommerce trends are still positive, even after the big early-decade surge. Steady growth usually means steady operations load, not just seasonal pressure.
Source: US Census Bureau (Quarterly Retail ECommerce Sales, Q3 2025)
9. The Philippines recorded $17B in eCommerce GMV in 2023, projected at $21B in 2024.
This points to a market where online buying is mainstream and still growing, projections based on the latest eCommerce trends. In many cases, that also correlates with a deeper pool of commerce-experienced professionals across support, catalog operations, and back-office workflows.
For US businesses, it is also a reminder that time zone coverage can be designed around when customers actually shop.
Source: Google, Temasek, Bain, e-Conomy SEA (Philippines report PDF)
10. Colombia surpassed COP 105 trillion in eCommerce sales in 2024.
A number at this level often reflects repeat buying and stronger payment rails, as per these trends in B2B eCommerce. In day-to-day terms, it can mean higher expectations for fast response times and consistent policy handling.
It is also a useful signal for Spanish-language service demand and local payment support needs.
Source: Colombian Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CCCE)
11. In North Macedonia, 63.5% of people ordered/bought online in the last 12 months (Q1 2024).
When online ordering is this common, customers tend to expect “normal retail” standards digitally: quick confirmations, proactive updates, and predictable resolution when something goes wrong.
That usually increases demand for support roles that can bridge customer communication and back-office coordination.
Source: State Statistical Office (Usage of ICT, 2024)
eCommerce Growth Trends – Up to 2025
The following graph shows the growth trends over the past years. It reveals where teams need more coverage and cleaner processes, marking a nice trend that is likely to continue in the future as well.
Source: Adobe Cyber Monday recap
eCommerce Statistics Graph [2026 – 2028]
12. US eCommerce grew 9.4% YoY in Q4 2024.
Even after the early-decade surge, online buying continued to outpace total retail growth, which lines up with many online shopping growth statistics. That typically means competition shifts toward execution: availability, delivery accuracy, and fast problem-solving.
Teams often feel this as “more volume with the same expectation for speed,” as these eCommerce stats show up to 10% YoY rise.
Source: US Census Bureau (Quarterly Retail ECommerce Sales, Q4 2024)
13. ECommerce sales accounted for 16.4% of total retail sales.
When eCommerce holds a steady share like this, small operational failures can have outsized impact. A small change in refund speed or support response time can affect a very large base of customers.
It also tends to push businesses to measure service quality and operational performance more tightly.
Source: US Census Bureau (Quarterly Retail ECommerce Sales, Q4 2024)
14. US holiday online spending hit $241.4B in 2024 (Nov 1–Dec 31).
Peak periods are not just sales events, and eCommerce trends in 2024 showed how quickly volume can shift week to week. They are a good test of day-to-day operations. The volume increases the load on fulfillment, customer updates, returns, and support coverage at the same time.
Steady staffing and clear processes usually matter more than clever tactics in weeks like this.
Source: Adobe Digital Economy Index
15. Cyber Monday 2024 reached $13.3B in online sales.
Single-day spikes often create a second wave of work after the sale, like address changes, cancellations, delivery questions, and refund requests, similar to what many Cyber Monday and Black Friday eCommerce stats tend to show.
Shoppers also seem to be arriving more often from new “answer-first” tools.
Source: Adobe Cyber Monday recap
16. Mobile drove 57% of Cyber Monday 2024 online sales.
When most sales happen on phones, small checkout and login issues can affect a lot of customers at once. According to these mobile eCommerce trends, more than half of all Cyber Monday sales were attributed to mobile users. Mobile also tends to increase support requests tied to order confirmation and tracking.
Source: Adobe Cyber Monday recap
17. Traffic to retail sites from generative AI chat tools rose 1,950% YoY on Cyber Monday 2024.
This is a tremendous growth showing the importance of AI as these eCommerce site search statistics show. Shifts like this can change what customers expect when they land on a product page. This suggests shoppers are starting to arrive from new “answer-first” tools.
That puts more weight on clear product info and fewer steps from question to purchase. It also creates new work for teams managing product information and site search relevance.
Source: Adobe Cyber Monday recap
eCommerce Statistics in the US
The numbers in the following section here show that a lot of eCommerce work happens after the order is placed. Returns and disputes are two of the clearest examples.
18. Retail returns were projected to total $890B in 2024.
Returns at this size create steady work in refunds, reverse logistics, customer messages, and inventory updates. For many retailers, returns are not seasonal, they are constant.
Source: National Retail Federation (NRF and Happy Returns Report)
19. Retailers estimate 16.9% of annual sales in 2024 were returned.
According to these eCommerce industry trends, roughly less than one fifth of all purchases were return. A return rate like this changes how teams plan staffing and processes. It also raises the need for clear return rules, because confusion can create more tickets and more disputes.
Source: National Retail Federation (NRF and Happy Returns Report)
20. Merchants in US and Canada incurred $3.00 in total cost for every $1 of fraud in 2024.
According to top companies in the US, this amount includes time and overhead, not just the fraudulent transaction. It helps explain why fraud creates extra steps for operations, not just a security concern, especially as B2B eCommerce trends push more high-value transactions online.
Source: LexisNexis Risk Solutions press release
21. Chargebacks rose 78% year over year in Sift’s Q4 2024 dispute reporting.
When chargebacks rise, teams often spend more time gathering evidence and replying to banks and payment providers. That work usually touches support, payments, and finance.
Source: Sift (Q4 2024 Digital Trust Index)
22. 42% of Gen Z admitted to chargeback fraud.
“Friendly fraud” also appears to be becoming more common. Clear policies and clear customer messages matter more when people treat chargebacks like a shortcut to refunds.
Source: Sift (Q4 2024 Digital Trust Index)
eCommerce Growth Statistics
This section uses published projections from recent primary reports, since many trends are easier to spot in forward-looking data. The projections are not guarantees, but they show where payments and shopping behavior may be headed.
23. Digital wallets are projected to exceed $25T in global transaction value by 2027.
The latest eCommerce statistics show a worldwide growth in transaction value in the coming years.
If this plays out, more payments will run through wallet ecosystems. That usually increases the need for strong payment support, reconciliation, and dispute handling.
Source: Worldpay Global Payments Report 2024
24. Digital wallets are projected to make up 49% of all sales online and in-store by 2027.
As wallets become the default in more places, payment questions may shift from “did my card work?” to “where is my refund?” and “why is this charge pending?” Teams often need cleaner tracking across wallet providers, faster refund handling, and clearer customer messages.
Source: Worldpay Global Payments Report 2024
25. Total retail returns are projected to reach $849.9B in 2025.
Returns at this level mean ongoing work in refunds, warehouse checks, and customer updates. Judging by these eCommerce statistics, the amount of returned items is a tad worrying.
Source: NRF 2025 Retail Returns Landscape
26. An estimated 19.3% of online sales will be returned in 2025.
A return rate this high means returns are not an occasional issue. They become a steady workflow that touches support, warehouse teams, and finance. What these online shopping statistics suggest is that it also raises the need for clear return reasons and consistent updates, because gaps here often create extra tickets.
Source: NRF 2025 Retail Returns Landscape
27. NRF estimates 9% of all returns are fraudulent in 2025.
Based on these eCommerce fraud trends, nearly 1/5th of all returns were fraudulent. When a share of returns is fraudulent, teams cannot treat every return the same way. More cases need checks, documentation, and approval steps before refunds go out. The tradeoff is speed versus control, so clear rules and consistent notes matter.
Source: NRF 2025 Retail Returns Landscape
Summary
These eCommerce statistics show a clear pattern – buying online is still growing, but the work behind it is growing too. Wallet payments, mobile shopping, peak-season spikes, returns, and disputes all add pressure after checkout. In many cases, the customer experience depends most on what happens after the order is placed, not just how the site looks.
