Consumers worldwide spent an additional US$900 billion online last year as the Covid-19 crisis forced people to stay home and observe social distancing.
What happened
According to Mastercard’s latest Recovery Insights report, Commerce E-volution, about $1 of every $5 spent on retail worldwide was spent online last year, compared to $1 in every $7 in 2019.
Why it matters
More significantly, Mastercard predicts between 20 and 30 per cent of the shift to online will be permanent.
“While consumers were stuck at home, their dollars travelled far and wide thanks to e-commerce,” says Bricklin Dwyer, Mastercard chief economist and head of the Mastercard Economics Institute. “This has significant implications, with the countries and companies that have prioritised digital continuing to reap the benefits. Our analysis shows that even the smallest businesses see gains when they shift to digital.”
Dwyer cautions that the digital shift has not been universal or consistent, due to geographical, economic and household differences from one market to another. However the researchers identified some common themes:
This news brief is based on reporting published by InternetRetailing Australia on 2021-04-07. The original report is linked below.
InternetRetailing Australia
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