As the pandemic continues to put enormous pressure on the economy and especially on retail and small businesses, it is the e-commerce market that has emerged as a clear winner. According to data published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce sales in the U.S have increased significantly. The report indicates quarterly e-commerce sales for the 2nd quarter of this year, with estimated sales for the second quarter adjusted for seasonal variation, but not for price changes, of USD 211.5 billion, an increase of 31.8 percent from the first quarter of 2020.
Predictably, the largest retailers with an online presence like Amazon, Wal-Mart and Target have benefited most from the rapid shift towards online purchasing. Wal-Mart in particular, which has been trying to expand its online business in recent years to compete with Amazon, has reported e-commerce sales increase of 97% in the fiscal second quarter.
By region, the Asian-Pacific region is expected to remain supreme. China in particular has long been the world’s largest market for e-commerce, but this year, it will overtake the US to become the world’s largest overall retail market for the first time, despite substantial economic headwinds caused by the pandemic, according to eMarketer.
“Alibaba, JD.com, and Pinduoduo will command 83.6% of the retail ecommerce market in 2020, compared with 80.3% last year. This growth (including Alibaba’s first share increase in many years) can be traced to their diversified product offerings and resilient logistics, which enabled them to serve consumers during the pandemic better than their smaller competitors,” eMarketer indicates.
