China Has the Highest eCommerce Penetration in the World

Online commerce is a significant contributor to economic performance. The leading eCommerce markets in terms of online share are also the top eCommerce markets in the world. The rivalry between China and the United States continues when it comes to online penetration, but this time China is in the lead.

Other indicators of high online penetration include digital maturity. Europe is well represented in the top 10 eCommerce countries by online share.

High Online Share Signals eCommerce Maturity

Online share measures the percentage of total market sales generated by eCommerce. For a country like China, this would mean that eCommerce accounted for 27.8% of a market’s total annual revenue.

A high online share reflects a developed eCommerce market that contributes to market revenues in a way that makes it indispensable to an economy. It reflects a functioning eCommerce system where infrastructure, payment and consumer perception result in a shopping channel that is used by a high proportion of consumers.

China, the U.S., UK and South Korea lead the top 10 ranking of eCommerce markets by online share, each with a share of more than 20%. They stand out from the following markets, the highest of which, the Netherlands, stands at a value of 18.0%.

Online Share Ranking Partially Matches Overall eCommerce Revenue Ranking

China’s high online share reflects its position as the eCommerce market with the highest revenues. The United States and United Kingdom both have an online share of 26.7% and are in the same positions here as in the ranking by total eCommerce revenues.

India deviates from this pattern as it has a very low online share of 4.0% but ranks as the fourth largest eCommerce market overall. Its eCommerce penetration is currently growing, but given its status as the most populous country, a large proportion of the market's revenues are accounted for by other non-eCommerce channels.

South Korea falls back into the previous pattern, with an online share of 23.9% and the fifth largest eCommerce market. Its eCommerce success is driven in part by the leading player, Coupang, which is dabbling in other industries around the world through investments.

Europe Delivers Most Markets in the Top 10

European markets are the most represented in this ranking, with 7 of the top 10 markets located in Europe. The country with the highest penetration is the United Kingdom, tied with the U.S. The remaining countries are located in the northern and western parts of Europe: The Netherlands (18.0%), Iceland (17.5%), Norway (17.3%), Germany (17.3%), Ireland (17.2%), and France (16.8%).

Europe's advanced technological status quo and deep integration of the online market place its markets at the top of this list. However, this trend is particularly pronounced in the northern part of the continent; smaller economies still have a much lower online share overall, giving them room for much steeper growth than the more mature markets.