Industry Update: Ecommerce Sales
2020 was a bit of a rough year, right? So much happened in 365 days, both good and bad. At CLBC, we are firm believers in the positive behind the negative. With being stuck indoors came a number of new ways for people to connect with each other. It also brought about a number of new ways for businesses to connect with consumers.
This and this alone helps explain the massive explosion of ecommerce sales. While customers could not go into brick-and-mortar stores for the majority of 2020, they did what they do best, find an alternative way to get what they want. The emergence of a much broader ecommerce ecosystem was born, rather quickly, lending to a boost in online sales.
Just to set the tone, take a moment to think back to everything you purchased online back in 2018. We’re pretty sure you weren’t ordering toilet paper and groceries online along with your traditional clothing & apparel, right? And even if you were one of those super early adopters, we’re pretty sure it was not in the same volume. In 2020, this huge shift made nearly everything available online to purchase, adding entire markets onto the ecommerce universe.
2018 Ecommerce sales were $523 billion dollars across industries. By 2019, it grew slightly to $568 billion, an 8.6% increase or $45 billion bump. However, in 2020, we saw double digit growth with ecommerce sales yielding $861 billion. This was a $293 billion increase or 52% rise from 2019.
Ecommerce Sales - 2018: $523 billion, 2019: $568 billion, 2020: $861 billion
This means that in the span of two years, we saw ecommerce grow $338 billion, or 65%.
2021 is kicking off to still drive great ecommerce sales. However, with retailers beginning to open their brick-and-mortar doors again, sales will likely shift back to more offline channels. Nevertheless, we believe that the consumer behavior is here to stay. If last year taught us anything, it was that online or in-store, a successful business will still need a platform for both as well as the agility to move quickly to meet market trends. If you have not already established a digital presence for sales, contact us to discuss your strategic opportunities.