E-commerce sales reached a new milestone in 2012, and we’re not talking millions or billions.
Try trillions. According to eMarketer, worldwide online sales surpassed $1 trillion for the first time ever last year, growing 21 percent from 2011. That number is expected to grow to $1.298 trillion in 2013.
How much did Amazon account for? The Seattle-based online giant reported $51.7 billion in net product sales last year, so about 5.1 percent of worldwide e-commerce sales.
The same eMarketer report found $343 billion in U.S. e-commerce sales last year, which conflicts with a recent comScore report of $186.2 billion for e-commerce spending in the U.S. alone during 2012. But throwing out actual number values, both reports show an increase of about 15 percent in U.S. e-commerce spending from 2011, marking the strongest annual growth rate since the recession.
eMarketer projects that U.S. e-commerce sales will grow from $343 billion in 2012 to $385 billion in 2013 and will have the highest e-commerce sales of any country through at least 2016.
Previously on GeekWire: Amazon Coins: E-commerce giant creates virtual currency
