The global ecommerce market continues to expand year after year, and there’s no sign of it slowing down anytime soon. As the Internet becomes increasingly available in different regions, we’re seeing new ecommerce markets emerge, setting the stage for online businesses to make the move and sell internationally.
Our partner, Asendia, recently attended our first-ever user conference in Los Angeles and discussed the Top 5 international ecommerce markets you should have on your radar.
1. China
We all know that China’s ecommerce market has exploded recently, alongside the rapid expansion of Alibaba, but did you know the country’s online spending is estimated to reach $1 trillion by 2019? It’s expected that China’s ecommerce sector will continue to be fueled by mobile apps and improved logistics networks, which have helped ecommerce companies reach new customers in smaller cities.
2. France
With an 11 percent increase in ecommerce sales in 2014 alone, online businesses should consider targeting French customers. As the sixth largest ecommerce market worldwide and the third largest in Europe, France has major opportunity for growth. The country’s ecommerce market is expected to increase by 10 percent in 2015, reaching €62.4 billion (roughly $69 billion).
3. Australia
In 2014, ecommerce sales in Australia increased 17.3 percent, making it clear that Australians are big fans of online shopping. An estimated 79.4 percent of Internet users in Australia purchase via digital channels. Despite having a smaller population, Australia is still ripe with opportunity for ecommerce businesses.
4. South Korea
Noted as having the highest wireless Internet speeds in the world, it’s no wonder that South Korea is the third largest retail ecommerce market in Asia-Pacific, and the seventh largest worldwide. Retail ecommerce sales in South Korea are expected to hit $36.76 billion in 2015, with 9.8 percent of these sales happening online.
5. United Kingdom
The British are the most frequent online shoppers in all of Europe, explaining why the UK is the third largest market for ecommerce in the world, behind only the U.S. and China. With the average shopper in the UK spending £1,174 online per year, online sales are predicted to continue moving on the up and up, and there’s plenty of room for your online business to join in.
Some of these countries are serving as the biggest players in the ecommerce market, while others are just now establishing themselves as ecommerce contenders. Nevertheless, each one holds tremendous opportunity and an appealing customer base for expanding your online business internationally.
For more insight on international selling, check out our International Shipping page.