Source a bunch of products, build a fancy website, post about it on social media and you’ll be rich in no time, right?
Not so fast.
Ecommerce is more complex than you might think. Successful ecommerce entrepreneurs need to stay sharp. They need to know how people are interacting with their devices and they need to modify their business plans to stay ahead of the curve.
Wanna join them? Well, lucky you — that’s what this post is all about.
Did you know that more than 25% of the global population made an online purchase in 2021. That’s over two billion people. That’s a heck of a lot of pie.
Here are 25 more jaw-dropping, mind-blowing, eye-popping ecommerce statistics that you need to know to stay on the cutting edge of ecommerce marketing.
#1. Email marketing has a 4400% ROI
For every dollar you spend on email marketing, you’ll get $44 back. That’s a huge return on investment. Companies without an email marketing strategy in place miss out big time — so don’t go that route. Instead, enlist the help of a decent emarketer and set up nurturing email campaigns to win new customers, keep existing subscribers and coax former followers back into the fold.
#2. Americans will spend a month and a half of 2022 on their phones
Americans spend nearly 3 hours a day glued to their phones which means they’ll spend 44 days, nearly a month and a half, on their phones in 2022. Now that’s a captive audience you can capitalize on. Boost your bottom line with a responsive website design — it’ll flow between desktop and mobile devices, keep your visitors happy and usher them gently into your checkout area. Everyone wins.
#3. Businesses lose $756 billion a year because of lame personalization
Seriously, if you’re going to personalize (and that, in itself, is a good idea), get it right. Pay attention to the things your subscribers and customers look at when they’re on your site, and then give them a nudge via email. “Hey buddy — remember that one thing you were lookin’ at? Why don’t ya go back and get it, huh?”
#4. About 57% of consumers buy things from overseas
Shoppers are a worldly bunch. They regularly buy things from companies based abroad. Know what that means? That means you need to get into the international market. Make your products accessible to people abroad and grow a global brand — even if complete world domination isn’t your final goal.
#5. CTA buttons boost conversions by 45%
It’s amazing what a little “click here” button will do. Include a call-to-action (CTA) button in your next email — or tack one onto the bottom of your next advertorial — to turn readers and visitors into buyers. They don’t need to be fancy to work. Create a couple of different versions and use split testing to determine the winner.
#6. 76% of US adults shop online
Remember going to the mall? That used to be a thing. Need a pair of jeans; go to the mall; buy jeans. Not anymore. Over three quarters of American adults are turning to their phones and computers for their shopping trips. In other words, your SEO ranking has to be good so customers can find you. Find and incorporate the right keywords on your site to keep Googlebot happy.
#7. Stores with social media accounts sell 32% more stuff
Remember Facebook? Sure you do. Brands with social media presences sell nearly a third more products than brands without — so make sure you set up a Twitter and an Instagram account too. Then, post engaging content regularly — and engage with your followers while you’re at it. If you don’t want to venture into the social media swamp while you’re at work, use a scheduling tool like Hootsuite.
#8. Roughly 85% of social media orders come from Facebook
Let’s stay in the social media groove for a little longer. About 85% of social media-driven sales come from Facebook. Users see ads, click through and purchase products en masse. Why? Because of social proof — the “everyone else is doing it, so it must be legit” phenomenon.
#9. 93% of millennials buy products via mobile
Yes, that’s correct, 93% of millennials buy products from their phones. That’s pretty close to all millennials. If millennials — soon to become the most financially powerful consumer demographic in the world — buy things using their mobiles, we need to pay attention. If you don’t have an ecommerce app yet, now’s the time to seriously consider creating one.
#10. 56% of US ecommerce sales went to Amazon in 2021
Jeff Bezos is really rich — but you probably already know that. Amazon is the biggest whale (or perhaps the largest shark) in the online retail ocean, with nearly 60% of all online retail sales, 56.7% to be exact, coming from Amazon in 2021. You may not be able to compete directly with Amazon, but you can copy Amazon a little. Drive sales with personalization, super-fast shipping and no-hassle returns to carve off a little action.
#11. 88 million buyers shopped online for Black Friday in 2021
Online sales during the 2021 holiday season totaled $257 billion in the US, rising 9% from the holiday season prior. The satisfying idea of getting a deal lured 88 million people to shop online for Black Friday in 2021. If you didn’t run a Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal last year, get on the wagon this year and lift your seasonal revenue.
#12. 46.5% of SMB increased their profits with free shipping
If you can find a way to factor free shipping into your profit margin, do it. Consumers hate paying for shipping — it’s a major reason for shopping cart abandonment — and it’ll streamline your sales flow. According to a recent MCM study, 46.5% of startups and SMBs that went with free shipping increased their profits.
#13. Slow-loading pages increase cart abandonment rates by 75%
Consumers aren’t patient at the best of times. Keep them waiting while your site loads and *poof* — they’re gone. In fact, slow-loading pages increase cart abandonment rates by 75%. Moral of the story: if you have a clunky site, nix it in favor of a quick, slick web presence. Get rid of huge images, increase your server bandwidth and test every action for speed before going live.
#14. If visitors have a bad mobile experience, they’re 62% less likely to purchase from you in the future
That’s right, folks. When visitors have negative experiences on mobile sites, they develop brand-centric prejudice. Your regular website can be the most user-friendly platform on the internet and they’ll never come back. Well, 62% of them won’t come back — and that’s a lot of people and a lot of dough.
#15. Optimized checkouts boost conversion rate by 35%
Want more sales? Silly question isn’t it. Streamline your checkout and you’ll raise your conversion rate by 35%. Sounds too simple to be true, but that’s psychology for you. One of the biggest barriers to purchase is a complex checkout; simplify that bit and you’ll see abandoned checkouts drop off, bigtime.
#16. 83% of consumers trust family or friends more than advertisements
About 83% of consumers trust recommendations made by friends or family members more than advertising. And hey, why shouldn’t they? After all, those folks care about them. You can convince more people to part with their hard-earned paychecks with a referral system. Make it as easy — and as incentive-laden — as possible for your existing customers to refer potential customers to your brand.
#17. But 88% of people trust online reviews as much as family or friend
Seriously, 88% of people trust online reviews as much as they trust recommendations from friends and family members. In other words, you need a Trustpilot account and a website review system, stat. Another thing — turn a few of the best reviews into Adobe-style graphics and milk them for all they’re worth on your social media accounts (don’t forget to ask permission first).
#18. Photos get 104% more comments and 53% more likes than posts without photos attached.
Avoid posting anything on your company social media accounts without including a photo. Seriously, photo-laden posts get 104% more comments and 53% more likes than posts without photos attached. Oh, and click-through rate (CTR) increases 84% — and that’s arguably the most important reason to post on social media in the first place.
#19. About 92% of mobile video viewers share content
You can use this factoid to your advantage. People really like watching videos, and more than 9 out of 10 of them share content, so it follows that if you create compelling video ads, they’ll get passed around. The result? More money for you, my friend. Wanna go viral? Make your ad funny as well as informative.
#20. Transactional emails get opened 8x more than marketing emails
Consumers open email receipts and shipping notifications way, way more often than they open marketing emails. You can piggyback on that. Tack new product announcements to the bottom of receipts and include personalized recommendations in shipping notifications. Grab those impulse purchase opportunities whenever you can.
#21. Segmented email campaigns increase revenue by 760%
Wait — 760%? Is that a typo? No, no it isn’t. Segment your email list and send each group of customers a personalized email and you’ll drive revenue massively. Analyze consumer data to find out more about each demographic and change product recs, written content and graphics accordingly.
#22. Nearly a 1/3 of ecomm customers have “smart” devices in their homes
“Alexa — play nostalgic 90s ballads.” A full 32% of online shoppers have at least one connected device at home. Speakers that speak back, IoT washing machines and smart thermostats rule the roost these days. You can give your website Alexa “skills” to make it more compatible with the connected universe.
#23. People shop online because online stores are open 24/7
Respondents to a recent KPMG survey said that they found online shopping convenient because they were able to purchase products any time of the day or night. If you have a chat feature on your site, consider incorporating an AI bot to give late-night shoppers “someone” to talk to.
#24. Consumers mention specific brands in conversation 90 times a week
Brand legends don’t become brand legends by accident. They insert themselves into the narrative — they slide into culture sideways, like masked bandits. Good bandits, but bandits nonetheless. Compelling ads, clever email marketing campaigns and innovative, high-quality products can help embed your brand name in consumers’ minds. Once converted, they turn into natural advocates.
#25. eComm sales will top $6.5 trillion annually by 2023
Can you even imagine $6.5 trillion dollars? How big a pile would that be? The point is that with that much cash flying around, you should be able to rake in at least a little for yourself. For best results, use savvy email marketing tactics, create clever ad campaigns and build yourself a stellar sales funnel.
Wrappin’ It up, Stat
Online retail is the way of the future — now more than ever. Twenty years ago, malls were king; now, ecommerce businesses are retail royalty. You can use the 25 surprising ecomm stats we mentioned above to compete in the online marketplace and take your brand from good to great. Go forth and conquer, ecomm warrior!
