Online Shopping Statistics (2026): Growth, Sales & Demographics

Highlights. Global online shopping revenue totaled $3.64 trillion in 2025; projections indicate that sales will exceed $5.05 trillion by 2030.

2.76 billion people worldwide shop online as of 2026.
74% of online shopping traffic comes from mobile users.
Online consumer spending is projected to grow 6.77% per year through 2030.
Online shopping represents 15.9% of all retail sales worldwide as of 2026.
American online spending totaled $1.43 trillion in 2025; projections indicate that online spending will exceed $1.98 trillion in 2030.

Bar Graph: Global Online Retail Sales in trillions from 2020 ($2.22) to 2025 ($3.64) with projections to 2030 ($5.05) according to Statista

Online Shopping 2026 Statistics

In the first six (6) months of 2026, online shoppers in the U.S. spent a record average of $4.084 billion per day.

American online shoppers spent a total of $739.237 billion in the first 6 months of 2026.
Online shopping sales in the U.S. totaled $329.530 billion in the second fiscal quarter (Q2) of 2026, up 12.4% year-over-year (YoY).
As of 2026 Q2, e-commerce accounts for 16.4% of all retail sales in the U.S., up 5.44% YoY.
2026 Q2 e-commerce revenue growth outpaced U.S. currency inflation by 252%.
As a share of total retail revenue, 2026 Q2 e-commerce was down 10.3% from its quarterly record in 2025 Q4 (18.3%).
Online shopping sales totaled $301.242 billion in 2026 Q1, up 9.26% YoY from 2054 Q1.
Online shopping sales totaled $365.160 billion in 2025 Q4, up 5.58% YoY from 2024 Q4.

U.S. Quarterly Online Shopping Revenue
Quarter	Online Spending (in billions)	Share of All Retail
2026 Q2	$329.53	16.4%
2026 Q1	$301.24	16.7%
2025 Q4	$365.16	18.3%
2025 Q3	$299.72	15.8%
2025 Q2	$293.14	15.5%
2025 Q1	$275.72	15.9%
2024 Q4	$345.87	17.8%
2024 Q3	$284.80	15.6%
2024 Q2	$278.26	15.3%
2024 Q1	$261.11	15.5%
2023 Q4	$317.89	17.1%
2023 Q3	$264.68	14.8%
2023 Q2	$260.90	14.6%
2023 Q1	$243.55	14.8%
2022 Q4	$289.49	16.0%
2022 Q3	$241.48	13.8%
2022 Q2	$240.46	13.5%
2022 Q1	$226.04	14.2%
2021 Q4	$275.59	16.0%
2021 Q3	$221.44	13.8%
2021 Q2	$228.88	13.9%
2021 Q1	$210.68	14.7%
2020 Q4	$251.53	16.6%
2020 Q3	$201.68	14.2%
2020 Q2	$200.90	15.5%
2020 Q1	$144.37	11.7%

Global Online Shopping Statistics

Online shopping will generate $6 trillion in annual revenue by 2034.

In 2026, online retail sales are expected to reach $3.88 trillion globally.
Global online shopping sales revenue totaled $3.64 trillion in 2025.
In 2025, global online shopping revenue increased by 13.0% from 2024.
Worldwide, online sales represented 15.7% of global retail sales in 2025, up 7.53% from 2024 (14.6%).
Projections indicate that, from 2025 to 2030, online shopping sales will increase at an average annual rate of 6.77%.
By 2030, online shopping is projected to make up 17.0% of global retail sales.
72% of online shopping is on marketplaces.

Bar Graph: Number of Online Shoppers Worldwide in billions from 2020 (1.77) to 2026 (2.76) with projections to 2030 (3.16) according to Statista & The World Counts

U.S. Online Shopping Statistics

Online shopping in the United States makes up a smaller portion of the global market, in part due to increased internet accessibility worldwide.

Americans represent about 10.8% of the world’s online shoppers.
299.4 million Americans (87.4%) shop online.
In 2026, online retail spending in the U.S. is projected to total $1.53 trillion.
From 2024 to 2025. American online spending increased by 7.02% to $1.431 trillion.
American online consumer spending surpassed $1.337 trillion in 2024.
U.S. online sales represented an estimated 39.3% of global online sales in 2025, down 5.32% from 2024 (41.5%).
19.0% of 2025 retail sales were online, up from 18.4% in 2024.
Online shopping revenue in the average U.S. state was equivalent to an estimated $4,267 per adult in 2025.
The average American consumer spent $1,121 online in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025.
U.S. households spent an average of $2,690 online in 2025 Q4.

Bar Graph: Total U.S. Online Retail Sales in trillions from 2020 ($0.871) to 2025 ($1.431) according to the U.S. Census Bureau (Census) with projections to 2030 ($1.985)

Online Shopping Growth Statistics

While growth has slowed in the United States, increased accessibility continues to boost global online shopping sales and activity.

Projections indicate the number of global online shoppers will exceed 3 billion by 2029.
Online shopping global market penetration increased by 2.65% from 2024 to 2025.
In 2021, online shopping’s global penetration increased by 6.47% from 2020.
Household care and healthcare products had the fastest year-over-year (YoY) online sales growth among all product categories in 2025, up by an estimated 21.2% and 19.4%, respectively.
Online food & beverage sales increased 13.6%, to account for 5 to 10% of total category sales.

Double Line Graph: Online Shopping Sales Growth in the U.S. and world from 2020 (34.2% in the U.S. and 25.4% worldwide) to 2025 (7.03% U.S. and 13.0% worldwide) according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Statista with projections to 2030 (6.58% U.S, 6.09% world)

Historical Online Shopping Growth

eCommerce sales continue to grow annually, but at a slower pace than in previous years.

From 2020 to 2025, global e-commerce sales increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.40%; U.S. online sales increased 10.44% annually.
In 2020, e-commerce accounted for 12.5% of global retail sales and 15.9% of U.S. retail sales.
As a share of retail sales, global e-commerce increased 25.6% from 2020 to 2025, while the U.S. e-commerce share grew 19.4%.
8.0% of global retail sales were online in 2017.
In the U.S., e-commerce accounted for 10.4% of 2017 retail sales.
From 2017 to 2020, global e-commerce sales increased by a CAGR of 18.0% annually, while U.S. online sales increased by 19.1%.
During this period before 2020, U.S. online retail sales grew 5.93% faster than the global market.
As a share of global retail sales, e-commerce increased 56.3% from 2017 to 2020, while the share of U.S. retail sales grew 53.0%.
U.S. e-commerce as a share of retail sales increased 84.7% from 2005 to 2015, and 100.2% from 1995 to 2005.

Historical Online Retail Sales
Year	Global Revenue (in billions)	U.S. Revenue (in billions)
2025	$3,640	$1,431.3
2024	$3,220	$1,337.3
2023	$2,860	$1,224.2
2022	$2,730	$1,100.7
2021	$2,710	$1,004.8
2020	$2,220	$871.34
2019	$1,770	$649.23
2018	$1,560	$575.28
2017	$1,350	$515.73

Online Holiday Shopping

Americans are most likely to shop online during the winter holiday season.

Americans spent a 16.6% larger share of their retail dollars online in the month of December 2025 (compared to the average over the rest of the year).
December 2008 holds the record for the largest monthly increase in online spending at 39.4%.
Americans spent up to $1.02 trillion for the holidays in 2025.
The average American spends around $890 over the winter holiday season.

Stacked Bar Graph: Top Grocery Items Purchases Online by the share of online grocery shoppers purchasing according to Power Reviews

Online Grocery Shopping Statistics

While Americans still prefer to shop in-store for groceries, online and hybrid grocery shopping increased significantly in 2020 and 2021.

Online grocery sales in the U.S. totaled $204.5 billion in 2025.
In 2026, digital food and beverage sales are expected to account for 29.5% of e-commerce sales.
From 2017 to 2028, food is expected to have the highest CAGR of any online product category, growing 24.8% per year.
82% of American households have purchased groceries online.
19% of American consumers purchase most of their groceries online.
20% of consumers purchase equal amounts of groceries online and in-store.
In 2025, 21.2% of consumers preferred to purchase groceries and household goods online, up 12.5% YoY.
The top three food items in terms of the number of shoppers purchasing online are non-perishable foods (78%), soft drinks (67%), and fresh food (61%).

Bar Graph: U.S. Consumers Who Primarily Shop Online (as opposed to in-store or hybrid/no response) by share of total consumers from November 2024 to 2025 (29%) according to Morning Consult

Online Consumer Statistics

Online shopping trends show that, while consumer habits change over time, growth is consistent.

33.4% of the world’s population shops online.
In 2026, an estimated 2.76 billion people worldwide shop online, up 4.57% YoY.
American consumers who prefer online shopping say convenience is the main reason they shop online.
Americans are most likely to buy apparel and accessories online as opposed to in-store.
U.S. shoppers are also more likely to purchase home furnishings and consumer electronics online as opposed to in-store.
43% of U.S. consumers bought clothing and 34% bought shoes online over 12 months.
Furniture and home furnishing sales dollars account for an estimated 7.26% of all e-commerce sales.

Bar Graph: U.S. Share of Global Online Retail sales from 2018 (36.9%) to 2025 (39.3%) with projections to 2028 (39.1%) according to the U.S. Census Bureau & Statista

Online Shopping Demographics

Please note that this report generally conforms to terminology used in source data to identify shopper demographics.

Shoppers in high-income households are 12.3% more likely to shop online than middle-income households.
53% of male shoppers and 44% of female shoppers prefer to browse retail items online as opposed to in-store.
Among age groups, those born between 1981 and 1996 (often called ”Millennials”) are the most likely to shop online.
Shoppers born from 1992 to 2012 (”Generation Z”) are the most likely to use a hybrid method of shopping.

Bar Graph: U.S. Share of Global Online Shoppers from 2018 (11.7%) to 2025 (10.9%) according to the Statista & The World Counts with estimates and projections to 2028 (10.8%)

Online Order Fulfillment Statistics

Fulfillment is a multi-billion-dollar industry that, with package shipping and delivery, is a cornerstone of online shopping.

Consumers are 128% more likely to select ship-to-home over in-store pickup, the second-most popular fulfillment method.
45% of online grocery shoppers prefer home delivery.
74% of online shoppers expect delivery within two (2) days of ordering.
68% of online consumers expect free delivery for orders valued less than $50.
For each day an e-commerce delivery is late, consumers are 1.1% more likely to return the items.
Online shoppers are most likely to return items via third-party drop-off; 45% of consumers making returns used this method over a 30-day period.
43% of online returns over a 30-day period were returned by mail, while 35% were returned to a brick-and-mortar location.

Pie Chart: Top 5 Online Retailers' U.S. Market Share according to Statista

Online Retailer Statistics

With thousands of e-commerce websites, global and international markets are each dominated by a handful of major retailers.

Amazon is the largest online retailer in the U.S., with $847.4 billion in 2025 online gross merchandise value (GMV).
Pinduoduo (Temu) is the largest global online retailer; 2025 e-commerce GMV totaled $780.5 billion.
Americans spend 340% more on Amazon than at the second-highest-grossing U.S. online retailer.
Among U.S. online retailers, Amazon has a 40.5% market share.

Pie Chart: Global Online Market Share by Product Category according to Statista

Online vs. In-Store Shopping Statistics

The preference for in-store shopping typically increases during the summer months.

In 2025, a monthly average of 45.4% of American consumers preferred to shop in-store.
28.4% preferred to shop online, while 26.3% preferred a hybrid method or had no preference.
Also in 2025, 36.4% of Americans opted to purchase their personal electronics online when possible.
33.1% and 30.2% of American consumers preferred to purchase their apparel and beauty products online, respectively.
23.8% of consumers preferred to purchase home furnishings and appliances online.
American shoppers are 6.25% more likely to purchase home goods online instead of in-store.

Online Shopping COVID-19 Statistics

COVID-related lockdowns and quarantines increased consumers’ need to shop online.

A monthly record for online purchases as a percentage of total retail sales dollars was set at 18.7% in April 2020.
Online spending in the U.S. increased by 34.2% in 2020.
Between 2019 and 2020, grocery sales online increased 52.6%.
60% of global internet users shopped primarily online in 2020/21, up 13.2% from 2019.
In 2020, 90% of North American consumers shopped online, up 11.1% from 2018.

Pie Chart: Share of Global eCommerce Sales by Country among the 10 largest markets according to Statista

International Online Shopping Statistics

eCommerce retailers in Asia account for the largest share of the market; meanwhile, online consumers in North America and Europe spend more per consumer.

43.9% of online sales are in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC).
eCommerce sales in North and South America account for 36.2% of global online sales.
European e-commerce accounts for 18.7% of the global market.
Consumers in Europe will spend an average of $1,381 online in 2026.
Online spending per capita in Asia is $795.
Up to 31.2% of global online sales are cross-border transactions.

These data and insights were compiled by the Capital One Shopping team based on publicly available data.

Online Shopping Statistics