Last year, China was the only market to see overall ad spending growth, although digital ad spending performed well almost everywhere. This year, every country will see growth in almost every category.

Social commerce is a fast-growing segment of the US ecommerce market that’s garnering more attention and investment from media companies and brands.

Social commerce accelerated in the US in 2020 amid the pandemic-driven ecommerce boom as key platforms advanced their shopping and checkout capabilities.

China’s Singles’ Day is no longer just a discount shopping event, as participating digital giants are now leveraging livestreams, new product launches, and novel technologies to enhance customer engagement and the buying experience.

China is the largest digital market in the world, leading all countries in terms of ecommerce, mcommerce and social commerce. It’s also home to many of the largest ecommerce conglomerates, including Alibaba and JD.com, who are generating sales at a scale that far exceeds that of companies in the US—including Amazon.

Global retail ecommerce sales will decelerate to a 16.5% growth rate in 2020. Even as consumers transitioned en masse to ecommerce during the pandemic, the drag caused by multiple recessions internationally has reduced the overall outlook.

Already No. 1 in ecommerce, China will overtake the US this year to become the world’s largest overall retail market for the first time.

China has proven to be a hotbed for digital innovations, especially in the past few years. During this time, marketers worldwide have observed the latest trends coming out of the country, applying what they learn to their own markets.

The retail ecommerce ecosystem in China is extremely diverse. While Alibaba and JD.com are the clear sales leaders, a handful of other players are holding their own, sometimes by carving out a niche market, be it Suning in consumer electronics or Mogujie in women’s apparel.

Growth of retail sales in China is declining, due to economic and geopolitical challenges, and will not overtake the US until 2021. But retail ecommerce has continued to flourish in some surprising ways under these current circumstances.

The global ecommerce market will rise more than 20% in 2019, despite mounting economic uncertainty and declining consumer spending growth around the world.

Mary Meeker, “queen of the internet” and venture capitalist at Bond Capital, released her highly anticipated annual “Internet Trends Report” and touched on everything from digital media usage in the US to consumer confidence in China in the 333-slide presentation she gave at the Recode Code Conference earlier this month.

Unlike Alibaba or JD.com, Pinduoduo relies on its users to leverage their social networks to drive conversions. The more friends and family a shopper can get to buy a product, the lower the price drops for everyone in the group.

China is poised to become the world’s top retail market in 2019, surpassing the US by more than $100 billion, according to eMarketer’s latest worldwide retail and ecommerce forecast.

Retail ecommerce platforms in China will total $1.53 billion in sales this year. Over 58% of these sales will take place through Alibaba’s digital storefronts.