By Aijaz Alam
How many people shop online?
About 2.3 billion people worldwide shopped online in 2021, according to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 68% more than in 2017. It is the latest global count. In the EU, 78% of internet users aged 16 to 74 bought or ordered goods or services online in 2025 (Eurostat), up from 62% in 2015.
- 2.3 billionPeople who shopped online worldwideUNCTAD, 2021
- 78%EU internet users aged 16 to 74 who bought online in the last 12 monthsEurostat, 2025
- 90%EU internet users aged 25 to 34 who bought online, the highest age groupEurostat, 2025
- $27TE-commerce sales by businesses in 43 economies, most of it business to businessUNCTAD estimate, 2022
- $2.5TDigitally ordered exports (cross-border e-commerce) from the same 43 economiesUNCTAD estimate, 2021
- 17.1%Online share of US retail salesUS Census Bureau, Q2 2026, seasonally adjusted
The numbers
The full breakdown
People who shop online worldwide, UNCTAD estimates
| Measure | People | Year |
|---|---|---|
| People who shopped online worldwide | 2.3 billion | 2021 |
| People aged 15 and older who shopped online worldwide (earlier estimate) | 1.45 billion | 2018 |
| Online shoppers in China, the largest number of any country | 610 million | 2018 |
| Online shoppers who bought from abroad | 330 million | 2018 |
UNCTAD news of 7 Jun 2024 (2021 figure, 68% more than 2017) and press release of 27 Apr 2020 (2018 figures, about a quarter of the world's population aged 15 and older and 9% more than 2017). The two releases use different estimates, so do not read the change between them as growth.
Share of internet users who shop online, selected places
| Place | Internet users who bought online | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Union (ages 16 to 74, last 12 months) | 78% | 2025 | Eurostat |
| European Union (ages 16 to 74, last 12 months) | 62% | 2015 | Eurostat |
| United Kingdom | 87% | 2018 | UNCTAD |
| Thailand | 14% | 2018 | UNCTAD |
| India | 11% | 2018 | UNCTAD |
UNCTAD names these three of the top 20 economies as examples and gives no full 2018 list in its release. In the EU in 2025, 15% of internet users had never bought online; more than one in four had not bought online in 2025 in Portugal (26%), Bulgaria (27%), Italy (28%) and Cyprus (30%).
EU internet users aged 16 to 74 who bought online in the last 12 months, by group (2025)
| Group | Bought online |
|---|---|
| Aged 16 to 24 | 84% |
| Aged 25 to 34 | 90% |
| Aged 35 to 44 | 87% |
| Aged 45 to 54 | 80% |
| Aged 55 to 64 | 69% |
| Aged 65 to 74 | 55% |
| Men | 78% |
| Women | 78% |
| Employees | 85% |
| Students | 83% |
| Pensioners | 60% |
| Living in cities | 79% |
| Living in rural areas | 76% |
| All EU internet users 16 to 74 | 78% |
Eurostat, E-commerce statistics for individuals (survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals), data extracted February 2026. By education: 59% with no or low formal education, 77% medium, more than 89% high.
Online share of retail sales: how much shopping happens online
| Economy | Online share of retail sales | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 17.1% | Q2 2026, seasonally adjusted | US Census Bureau |
| China, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea | Around 25% to 30% | As reported Jun 2024 | UNCTAD |
| United States | Around 15% | As reported Jun 2024 | UNCTAD |
| Most other economies UNCTAD covers | Roughly 5% to 10% | As reported Jun 2024 | UNCTAD |
A share of retail spending, not of people. UNCTAD's technical note of 13 Jun 2024 does not give a single year for these shares; it says online retail growth moderated in 2023.
Value of e-commerce, UNCTAD estimates
| Measure | Value | Year |
|---|---|---|
| E-commerce sales by businesses in 43 economies (about three quarters of world GDP) | Almost $27 trillion | 2022 |
| Same measure | Approaching $25 trillion | 2021 |
| Digitally ordered exports from the same 43 economies | Around $2.5 trillion (about 13% of their exports) | 2021 |
| Global e-commerce sales (earlier method) | $25.6 trillion | 2018 |
| Cross-border business-to-consumer e-commerce sales | $404 billion | 2018 |
UNCTAD technical note of 13 Jun 2024 (2021 and 2022) and press release of 27 Apr 2020 (2018). Most of the value is business to business; UNCTAD calls the export estimate relatively uncertain. The 2018 and 2022 series use different methods.
Why sources differ
Same question, different answers
| Number | When | Who measured | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.3 billion | 2021 | UNCTAD | People who shopped online worldwide, built from national data; the latest global count |
| 1.45 billion | 2018 | UNCTAD (earlier estimate) | People aged 15 and older who bought online, an older estimate with its own method |
| 78% | 2025 | Eurostat | Share of EU internet users aged 16 to 74 who bought online in the last 12 months, not a share of all people |
| 6 billion | 2025 | ITU | People who used the internet, often mistaken for the number of online shoppers |
| 17.1% | Q2 2026 | US Census Bureau | Share of US retail spending that is online, not a share of people |
Counts of online shoppers vary for three reasons.
The first is the base. UNCTAD counts people, Eurostat gives a share of internet users aged 16 to 74, and Census measures dollars of retail sales. "78% shop online" and "17% of retail is online" are both true, because most people shop online sometimes while most spending still happens in stores.
The second is the time window. Eurostat asks about the last 12 months; a stricter window gives a lower share. Many vendor figures do not say what window they use.
The third is age. The world count is old: UNCTAD's latest figure is for 2021, and its 2018 figure used a different estimate, so the gap between 1.45 billion and 2.3 billion is not all growth. Newer worldwide numbers in circulation usually come from private forecasts that do not publish their method.
Internet users are a ceiling, not a count of shoppers. About 6 billion people were online in 2025 (ITU), but in 2018 the share of internet users who bought online ran from 87% in the UK to 11% in India.
What it means
How to use these numbers
Online shopping is now normal for most people who are online, but not for everyone in the world. About 2.3 billion people bought something online in 2021, about two thirds more than in 2017. In richer places the habit is close to universal among internet users: in the EU, 78% bought online in 2025, and 90% of those aged 25 to 34.
It is also not the same as most spending moving online. In the US, online orders were 17.1% of retail sales in Q2 2026, and UNCTAD put the leading economies at about 25% to 30%. People shop online often, but stores still take most of the money.
For a retailer, the gap between those two numbers is the point: customers check products online even when they buy in person, so product pages need to be accurate. The biggest gap is age: only 55% of EU internet users aged 65 to 74 bought online.
When you quote a shopper count, give the year, the population and the source.
Method and sources
How it was measured
Method
- UNCTAD
- UN Trade and Development; global shopper and sales estimates from national data. News of 7 Jun 2024, technical note on ICT for development No. 1 of 13 Jun 2024 (43 economies), press release of 27 Apr 2020 (2018 figures)
- Eurostat
- E-commerce statistics for individuals, from the EU survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals; people aged 16 to 74 who used the internet in the last 12 months; data extracted February 2026; next update planned February 2027
- US Census Bureau
- Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, Q2 2026, released 18 Aug 2026; e-commerce sales divided by all retail sales, seasonally adjusted
- ITU
- Facts and Figures 2025; people who used the internet
- Definition
- An online shopper bought or ordered goods or services over the internet; payment and delivery can happen offline
- Checked at source
- 23 Oct 2026 (repo stats); 31 Oct 2026, the UNCTAD news, technical note and 2020 release and the Eurostat article
- Last changed
- 31 Oct 2026
- Data files
- CSV · JSON (stable links)
Sources
- UNCTAD e-commerce and digital economy estimates, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Research
- ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises, Eurostat Official data
- Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, US Census Bureau Official data
- Facts and Figures, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Official data
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FAQ
More questions people ask
Do more people shop online or in stores?
Most internet users shop online at least sometimes (78% in the EU in 2025), but most money is still spent in stores. In the US, online orders were 17.1% of retail sales in Q2 2026.
Which age group shops online the most?
In the EU in 2025, people aged 25 to 34: 90% of internet users in that group bought online in the last 12 months, against 55% of those aged 65 to 74.
How many people in the UK shop online?
The latest figure from our sources is for 2018, when 87% of UK internet users shopped online (UNCTAD), one of the highest shares among large economies.
Which country has the most online shoppers?
China, with 610 million online shoppers in 2018, according to UNCTAD.
Every number on this page was checked at its original source (UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Eurostat, US Census Bureau, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)). Free to cite with a link to this page.