{"id":340,"date":"2022-05-19T20:31:57","date_gmt":"2022-05-19T20:31:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/global-ecommerce\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T21:20:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T21:20:39","slug":"global-ecommerce","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/global-ecommerce\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Ecommerce: Size, Growth & Where to Start [2026]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Table of Contents<\/p>

** Minutes<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

What is global ecommerce?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global ecommerce growth over the years<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 steps for expanding internationally<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where is ecommerce growing the most?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How ShipBob has helped businesses expand globally<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global ecommerce FAQs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, international ecommerce selling<\/a> has also become much easier. That\u2019s not to say that it\u2019s easy for small and medium businesses (SMBs) to grow their business internationally<\/a>, but rather that the solutions to certain obstacles have become more accessible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For SMBs that plan to expand internationally, it\u2019s crucial to have a better understanding of global ecommerce and how it\u2019s grown over the years. This will prepare them with knowledge of what the future holds so they can go in fully ready to overcome whatever challenges they face along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, we take an in-depth exploration of what global ecommerce is, how it\u2019s evolved over the years, and what the future holds. We also share a few key steps to get started so you can confidently expand your business internationally. Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is global ecommerce?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Simply put, global ecommerce is the process of selling goods or services online to customers in a different country. It\u2019s different from regular domestic ecommerce because the transactions take place across geopolitical borders instead of only within the country of origin. Goods are shipped from the country of origin to customers located in a different country, crossing international borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This allows merchants to expand their business to new markets and reach new customers. With the growth of ecommerce platforms and marketplaces as well as fulfilment solutions, it\u2019s become much easier for merchants to get involved in global ecommerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global ecommerce growth over the years<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re still wondering whether an international expansion is a right choice for you, looking at the global ecommerce growth over the years could help you make a decision. Let\u2019s take a closer look at how global ecommerce has evolved in the past few years and what the future holds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History of ecommerce<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Michael Aldrich was a pioneer in the ecommerce industry, having introduced the first electronic shopping system in 1979. He used a telephone line to connect a transaction processing computer to a modified domestic TV. This enabled secure data transmission<\/a> between two parties, thus setting up the foundation for modern ecommerce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the system was initially marketed in 1980, it was offered as a business-to-business solution. Thomas Holidays UK then became the first B2B online shopping system when it was installed in 1981. The first B2C online shopping system came later in 1984 when the Gateshead Shopping and Information Service (SIS) set up a system to computerize \u201chome shopping\u201d for pensioners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same year, CompuServe launched the first comprehensive commerce service in the form of Electronic Mall, which was introduced in the U.S and Canada. The ecommerce landscape continued to see immense progress from 1990 onward with Book Stacks Unlimited introduced in 1992, allowing customers to place book orders through a dial-up bulletin board format. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in 1994, the business made it possible for customers to use credit card processing to buy books online through books.com and was ultimately acquired by Barnes & Noble. The next year, in 1995, Amazon was launched by Jeff Bezos, also primarily for selling books. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current global ecommerce sales<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Global ecommerce sales have been growing exponentially over the past several decades since the dot-com bust in 2000. The industry managed to hit $150 billion in 1999<\/a> when a significant portion (around 80%) of transactions was still taking place between one business and another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As business-to-consumer transactions grew in popularity, so did the size of the global ecommerce market. By 2014, projected online retail sales in the U.S alone reached $294 billion<\/a>\u2013almost double the worth of the industry as a whole 15 years earlier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then when the pandemic hit in 2020 and people had to resort to online-only transactions, the industry saw even more explosive growth. Worldwide retail ecommerce sales reached $4.2 trillion<\/a>\u2013a 26.4% increase from the previous year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although we\u2019ve stopped seeing pandemic-level growth, online retail sales have continued to grow albeit at a slower pace than in 2020. eMarketer projects that global ecommerce sales will hit $5.5 trillion in 2022, with year-over-year growth of 12.2%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The future of international ecommerce<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Global ecommerce will continue to see immense growth in the coming years, with sales projected to reach $7.3 trillion by 2025, according to eMarketer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the trends fueling this growth is the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) system, which enables shoppers to enjoy short-term financing for their ecommerce purchases. In fact, Klarna, the Swedish BNPL company, witnessed a massive increase in transactions in 2021<\/a>, primarily due to growth in the U.S. The company currently has 90 million active users globally and almost doubled the number of transactions between 2020 and 2021, hitting $18.9 billion in the first quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, reliable global fulfilment partners like ShipBob are also streamlining the international selling process with distributed fulfilment centres in different countries, thus helping fuel the growth. By leveraging these fulfilment centres, merchants can store their inventory closer to the customers, which allows them to keep the cost of global shipping low while ensuring faster deliveries even to international customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ShipBob also helps to alleviate many of the complications related to customs and import duties<\/a>. This simplified international selling process makes it easier for small and medium businesses to enter the global ecommerce market, which will further support growth in the industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about the supply chain crisis?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With the pandemic highlighting the need to create a lean supply chain and improve supply chain agility, ecommerce businesses have been adapting and improving to further support the industry growth. As a result, new software and service solutions have also emerged to better support the needs of global ecommerce businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies are starting to shift their focus toward improving supply chain resilience<\/a>. Many ecommerce brands are either bringing their global logistics<\/a> operations in-house or partnering with reliable third-party logistics companies like ShipBob to mitigate disruptions to the supply chain. Distributed inventory and tech-enabled supply chain operations<\/a> are among the top solutions to improve supply chain resilience and streamline international fulfilment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, the global ecommerce fulfilment market continues to experience significant growth. In 2021, the market size was valued at $86.4 billion<\/a> and is projected to reach $198.62 billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate of 9.5%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 steps for expanding internationally<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For ecommerce businesses that plan to expand globally, there are many things that need to be considered, especially when it comes to international logistics<\/a>. Here are the four steps to follow to grow your ecommerce business globally<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Getting started<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t already have an ecommerce business set up, that\u2019s where you need to start. Follow this quick checklist to start your ecommerce business as you gear up for international expansion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n