The pandemic was disastrous for many retailers; we estimate that total retail sales worldwide plunged 2.8% in 2020. Though, while many physical stores were shuttered, digital retail sales soared by over 25% in a single year.

Internet users worldwide plan on shopping both in-store and online this season.

Is TikTok ready to take on Amazon? ByteDance wants to launch an international ecommerce platform; whether it rolls out as a TikTok integration, or as a standalone app, will be a litmus test for the strength of the US social commerce market.

As digital transformation accelerates worldwide, growth in online shopping has created opportunities not only to reimagine brand relevance, but also to rethink the end-to-end customer experience. Dr. Tiffany Raymond, head of global customer advocacy, at PayPal, talks with eMarketer editorial director at Insider Intelligence Rimma Kats, about steps you can take to optimize your product, cart and checkout pages to help reduce cart abandonment, improve conversion, increase spend and boost customer loyalty.

The ecommerce landscape is rife with competition, but the opportunity to convert is exponential. Just in time for peak shopping season, find out how performance marketing can come in handy for brands looking to be impactful quickly with Awin’s Paul Stewart, head of global strategic partnerships and innovation.

Following a major shift to online retail in 2020, retail ecommerce sales will continue to grow by double digits through 2023 and make up an increasing share of total retail sales worldwide.

Alibaba’s quarterly earnings: The ecommerce giant posted strong growth in its retail and global businesses, even though we expect its share of China’s total ecommerce sales to dip slightly this year.

Alibaba’s quarterly earnings: The ecommerce giant posted strong growth in its retail and global businesses, even though we expect its share of China’s total ecommerce sales to dip slightly this year.

Even as total worldwide retail sales declined by 3.0% in 2020, retail ecommerce growth boomed to 27.6%. Ecommerce growth will decelerate substantially in 2021 to 14.3% as brick-and-mortar sales recover.

Livestreaming ecommerce—a market-like online shopping experience that feels like an amalgamation of the Home Shopping Network (HSN), game shows, talk shows, and auctions—has taken China by storm. The phenomenon was in part fueled by the pandemic, as brick-and-mortar stores temporarily closed down and consumers sheltered in place. Yet, a year later, livestream shopping is still going strong in the country.

Adobe Analytics estimates that total US ecommerce sales on Prime Day surpassed $11 billion, and Amazon said that its global customers bought more than 250 million items during the coveted two-day shopping event.

Noticing gaps in accessibility, SmileDirectClub went to market to offer affordable, wide scale orthodontic care in the US before going global. Watch Industry Voices: Spotlight on D2C with SmileDirectClub CMO John Sheldon to hear how the brand’s goals were achieved by focusing on customer relationship management and a retention strategy rooted in telehealth.

Slowing global retail volume will push digital brokers to seek new ways to attract new users and keep the ones they’ve got.