Digital economy and technology

Businesses located in 46 developed and developing economies that account for three quarters of global GDP recorded nearly $28 trillion in e‑commerce sales in 2024. This includes sales to customers both within the same economy and abroad. A global measure of e-commerce would be even higher. 

Among the economies covered, the United States of America, Europe and China dominate e‑commerce sales. This reflects the presence of complex and digitalized supply chains supporting manufacturing, retail and other business activities, as well as these economies' central role in global value chains.

Business e‑commerce sales have grown rapidly since 2016, based on statistics available across 46 developed and developing economies that generate three quarters of global GDP. This trend accelerated during the COVID‑19 pandemic, when both businesses and their customers turned to e-commerce to mitigate disruption to other sales channels.

Sales in 2024 were 5.5% higher than in 2023, representing a slight easing in the rate of increase. The continued growth of e‑commerce reflects the benefits that online sales channels offer businesses, enabling them to reach customers beyond their immediate location, including internationally, and to receive orders at any time.

From 2016 to 2024, e‑commerce sales by businesses in developing economies grew more than twice as fast as in developed economies, based on a sample of economies with available data. 

In developed economies, online ordering is widely used as a sales channel. While adoption continues to increase, and the value of e‑commerce sales is rising, digital ordering has already been adopted by many businesses for which it is well suited. In many developing economies, digitalization is progressing rapidly, including through the adoption of digital ordering processes, although adoption remains less widespread than in developed economies.