Most countries to buy online
What are the most popular countries for online shopping? Thanks to digital transformation, online outlets are proving to be the most lucrative for business. In a market where changes in consumption habits coupled with external factors have led people to turn more to online shopping, companies are rushing to analyze new markets in which they can position themselves. The choice of regions and countries depends on Which you sell your products to depends on the niche, industry, audience, and logistical resources available to your company (since expanding the market will increase the efforts needed for distribution and controlling the legal aspects).
Most countries to buy online
Taking a look at global online sales trends can provide clues to your strategy, according to the E-Commerce Foundation's Global E-Commerce Report on the world's leading B2C e-commerce countries in 2019:
- Europe is the global market with the highest internet penetration at 85% of the population, with North America coming in second at 84%.
- Asia and Oceania is the region with the largest population (61% of global population) and e-commerce sales revenue (44%).
Read also: The size of e-commerce in the world and its most important features
The world's largest B2C e-commerce marketplace for online sales
north america
- It is one of the countries with the most online purchases, and the percentage of online buyers among the population: 79.8%
- Average online spending growth rate: 7%
- This is one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world, and shows very attractive prospects for online business in all its regions, with 82% of the population buying online in the United States, 75% in Mexico, and 73% in Canada.
- Although China is the leading global market for total e-commerce sales, the United States still overtakes it in the online retail sales sector.
Europe
- When we talk about the countries that buy the most online, the percentage of online buyers among the population: 72%
- Average online spending growth rate: 2.23%
- The countries with the highest e-commerce activity are the United Kingdom (87% of the population buys online), Sweden (84%), Germany and the Netherlands (83%).
- The lowest opportunities are found in Romania, where only 27% of the population makes purchases online, and at the same time, some economic powerhouses such as Italy, which has a modest online purchasing rate of 48%, do not boast a very large market either.
- Spain is still at 63%, although in 2019 it became the European country with the highest growth in e-commerce.
Asia and Oceania
- Percentage of online buyers in the population: 53.4%
- Average growth rate of online spending: 2%
- These regions include the highest concentration of the world's population and markets with highly diverse characteristics and requirements for e-commerce.
- Although the level of e-commerce activity is high and similar in South Korea (88%) and Australia (84%), a business's needs will differ in order to adapt its sales to each of those countries.
- The types of products in highest demand, the most intuitive web design for each group, and the shipping conditions are all very different, not to mention adapting content management in Korean is more challenging than doing so in English.
Africa
- Percentage of online buyers in the population: 43%
- Average online spending growth rate: 32.5%
- African countries with the highest demand for e-commerce have not reached the growth levels of leading economic powers: in Kenya, 65% of the population is active in online shopping, followed by Nigeria and South Africa at 63%.
- While these numbers may seem unpromising, it is important to remember that Africa is a market with huge disparities (also included is the world's least developed e-commerce economy: Tanzania).
- In our talk about the countries that buy the most online, you should know that the logistical difficulties of the African market network do not prevent some of its regions from achieving higher growth in e-commerce between companies and consumers and stabilizing demand.
Read also: The future of e-commerce
The Middle East
- Percentage of online buyers in the population: 43%
- Average online spending growth rate: 97%
- Like Africa, including The Middle East A few notable e-commerce marketplaces as well as areas with very low online penetration.
- Among the strongest markets are the United Arab Emirates, which is the country with the most online purchases in the Arab world, with 89% of the population working in e-commerce activity, Bahrain with 83%, and Qatar with 81%.
- Meanwhile, in Armenia, only 15% of the population buys online.
- Another problem faced by online buyers in the Middle East is that most local retailers still do not offer online shopping facilities.
- This encourages international online shopping, which can be a very interesting window for companies that want to expand their global network.
- Until now, most online purchases have been made from Chinese sellers, but Middle Eastern consumers are increasingly turning to e-commerce businesses based in other countries, with the US and Germany at the top of the list.
- It is important to keep in mind that the Middle East is home to a largely young audience, someone else who is accustomed to online media and does not hesitate to purchase international products (especially clothing, electronics, and jewelry).
- For example, in Saudi Arabia, 55% of the population is under 30 years old and nationwide smartphone usage is over 65%.
- Adapting sales strategies to this niche, and of course presenting web and product content in Arabic, are the keys to success in online selling in the Middle East.
International e-commerce sales strategy techniques
- It is among the trends and technologies that will transform the world's e-commerce landscape and facilitate business access to global markets.
- In dealing with the topic of countries where people buy the most online, we can find tools that simplify the management and adaptation of multilingual content to different regions and channels at the same time.
- Having the right automation and forecasting software can significantly reduce the costs associated with expanding an international business.
What is artificial intelligence?
Artificial Intelligence will be a key part of e-commerce business development in all dimensions, but especially when it comes to facilitating rapid international expansion. Adapting a business to different regions, time zones and audience profiles requires technology to automate chains of actions and predict the behavior of markets and customers.
Read more about artificial intelligence
Many AI applications analyze a business's inventory needs according to demand patterns and the particular circumstances of each market. They can also evaluate online advertising and positioning opportunities depending on the traffic your website receives and where it originates from.
In conclusion of our talk about the countries with the most online purchases, the general goal and trend in e-commerce is to design a business experience without friction from physical or digital borders. This means a shopping experience tailored to each region and consumer, but an experience that guarantees the same quality of the purchase process, product, information, and shipping anywhere. Your brand and industry should be easy to understand and remember in any language, although this can be difficult to consider when starting a company.
