The Who, What, and Where of Ecommerce

Ecommerce purchases continue to move to the forefront, and with more people in emerging markets receiving consistent internet access, the market is expected to hit a fever pitch—1.2 billion shoppers (Statista) spending $1.6 trillion globally in 2015 (eMarketer), projected to grow at roughly 20% globally.

This growth is led by China and the United States, combining for $911.72 billion in 2015, as shown by the chart below.

B2C Ecommerce Demographics

But when you look a bit deeper, there are a few surprising statistics, according to Business Intelligence. Here are a few key takeaways and predictions from the BI Ecommerce Demographic Report.

• Men Drive Nearly as Much Spending Online as Women: With women in control of 80-85% of household spending, it comes as a surprise that in the U.S., men make up about 40% of money spent online.
• Men Are More Likely to Make Purchases on Mobile, More Likely to Shift All Spending Online: Subscription retailers take notice. 22% of men made purchases online in the last year, compared to 18% of women. Further, 40% of American men aged 18 to 34 said they would “ideally buy everything online,” compared to only 33% of women the same age.
• Generation Z Spending Highest Percentage of Money Online: Although the generation has less to spend, the generation collectively spends 9% of its income online. This goes for millennials as well, who spend around $2,000 on ecommerce transactions.
• Boomers Meet mCommerce?: One in four mobile shoppers in the US is over the age of 55.
• Generation X Accounts for More Shoppers Than Share: 23% of online shoppers fall between the ages of 35 and 44, while only 18% of the US population is that age.

B2B Ecommerce Trends

Looking at B2C, the market pales in comparison to that of the B2B, expected to hit $780 billion (9.3 percent) in the U.S. alone by the end of 2015 and $1.1 trillion (12 percent of all sales) by 2020 (Forrester).

As B2B ecommerce pushes globally, expected to become a $6.7 trillion market by 2020, according to advisory firm Frost & Sullivan, those selling on B2B ecommerce markets will need to become even more agile, and those buying will have a multitude of purchasing options not previously available.

To learn more, see the following resources on B2B Ecommerce:

• Changing the Game: The B2B Ecommerce Manifesto
• Internet Retailer B2B Ecommerce Report

Learn More: Ecommerce Resources

For more information on the common trends among shoppers in the United States and the rest of the world, along with what you as an ecommerce platform should look out for, download the BI Report and read the following resources:

• How Subscription Retailers can Avoid Involuntary Churn
• 3 Ways Mobile Technology Enhances the B2B Payments Experience
• B2C Payments Tech to Energize the B2B Market

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