Highlights. Worldwide, there were 25.1 million online stores in 2026.
- In the United States, there are 13.4 million online stores as of 2026.
- 2,740 new online stores launch on an average day.
- Online stores represent 20.5% of retail sales.
- 70% of online retailers make less than $1 million in a year.
- Worldwide, online stores made $6.42 trillion in 2025; sales are expected to reach $6.88 trillion in 2026.
Number of Online Stores
Between varying definitions and a constantly changing total, estimates of the number of online stores vary. The statistics provided here are based on totals from online stores that use the most popular online payment technologies.
- There are over 13.4 million online stores in the U.S. in 2026, representing 53.4% of global online stores.
- From 2025 to 2026, the number of online stores in the U.S. increased by 12.6%, from 11.9 million.
- From 2025 to 2026, the number of online stores in the world increased by 4.15%, from 24.1 million to 25.1 million.
- After the United States, the United Kingdom hosts the highest number of online stores with 1.10 million, or 4.38% of all global online stores.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the global number of online stores rose from 9.70 million to 19.8 million, an increase of 104.1% and 10.1 million stores.
- In 2019, online stores represented 13.8% of all retail sales.
Number of Online Stores by Service Provider
While many online stores implement their own payment portals or marketplaces, others use popular e-commerce services like Shopify. The figures in this section were sourced in July 2025.
- Shopify leads with 6.90 million active sites globally and 3.75 million in the United States.
- Wix Stores is the second most popular e-commerce service, with 4.49 million active sites globally and 2.80 million in the United States.
- WooCommerce Checkout is close behind, with 3.53 million active sites globally and 1.69 million in the United States.
- Shopify holds 27.5% of the global e-commerce service market share and 28.0% of the U.S. e-commerce service market share.
- In comparison, Wix Stores holds a 17.9% share of the global e-commerce service market and 20.9% of the U.S. market.
- WooCommerce Checkout holds a 14.1% global share and a 12.6% U.S. e-commerce market share.
Number of Online Stores by Industry
Although many online stores do not fit into a specific category, online consumers tend to purchase certain product types more than others.
- Fashion is the most common vertical for e-commerce, with a 14.3% global share in 2025.
- In the United States, fashion accounts for 15.4% of the e-commerce market.
- Food has the largest e-commerce share in the United States at 18.3%.
- Globally, food accounts for 13.1% of the e-commerce market.
- DIY and hardware is the 3rd most common globally with a 5.76% share.
- In the United States, furniture is 3rd most common category, with a 9.02% share of the e-commerce market.
Number of Online Shoppers
The convenience of online shopping continues to drive its use, both in the U.S. and globally.
- There are an estimated 2.77 billion online shoppers worldwide in 2025, representing 33.8% of the global population.
- 288.5 million Americans shop online in 2025, representing 84.3% of the U.S. population.
- 10.4% of online shoppers worldwide are based in the United States.
- In 2024, there were 2.71 billion online shoppers worldwide, or 33.3% of the global population.
- From 2025 to 2028, the number of global online shoppers is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 1.73% to 2.90 billion.
- In 2024, there were 273.5 million online shoppers in the United States; by 2028, this is predicted to increase 4.31% annually to 323.8 million.
- China is the largest online market in the world by number of consumers, with 975.5 million online shoppers, or 35.2% of all online shoppers worldwide.
Online Store Sales Volume
The global volume of sales made through online stores continues to grow, as does the percentage of all sales that are made through online stores.
- In 2025, global online retail sales totaled $6.42 trillion, an increase of 6.86% from 2024.
- eCommerce represented 20.5% of all global retail sales in 2025.
- Global online retail sales are expected to increase 7.04% annually through 2028, reaching $7.89 trillion.
- In 2024, sales via online stores in the U.S. totaled $1.34 trillion, or 22.3% of all global online retail sales.
- In 2025, sales via online stores in China reached an estimated $3.45 trillion, or 53.8% of all global online retail sales.
- 18.4% of all U.S. retail sales in 2024 were made through online stores, compared to 48.6% of all Chinese retail sales.
- By 2028, 22.5% of all global retail sales are expected to take place online.
- Industry giant Amazon has a 37.6% e-commerce market share in the U.S.
Consumers and Online Stores
Consumers who shop online prefer the speed and convenience of online stores.
- 51% of U.S. consumers prefer to shop online.
- When asked for the primary reason they prefer to shop online, 29% of Americans said 24/7 availability, 25% said the ability to shop from home, and 11% said easy-to-access discount codes.
- In 2024, 53% of online shoppers in the U.S. shopped online at least once per week, 64% shopped more than once per month, and 30% once a month or less.
- In 2024, an estimated 9.20% of U.S. retail sales were made on mobile devices; by 2025, this is projected to increase to 10.4%.
- Worldwide, consumers shopping online in 2025 spent an average of $2,317 per year.
- In the United States, consumers shopping online in 2024 spent an average of $4,890 per year.
These data and insights were compiled by the Capital One Shopping team based on publicly available data.
Sources
- Markinblog, Study: How Many eCommerce Sites Are There?
- BuiltWith
- U.S. Census Bureau, Retail E-Commerce Sales
- Oberlo, How Many People Shop Online?
- Statista, Industry Overview
- eMarketer, Insider Intelligence
- Raydiant, State of Consumer Behavior
- Link My Books, Ecommerce