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According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, in the second quarter of 2018, US commerce sales totaled approximately $127.3 billion when adjusted for seasonal variation, a 3.9% increase over the first quarter of 2018. This is just a fragment of an ongoing trend: retail in digital commerce is growing exponentially and isn’t showing signs of slowing down.

Small business have contributed to this growth on a sizable scale. The struggles of major retailers like Toys R Us, Sears, and Radio Shack has left a void in the market, and many small businesses have managed to capitalize on these openings through digital commerce. Customers are looking to form meaningful and long-lasting relationships with brands. Many big box stores are out of touch with what people want, but small business have had a lot of success using social media to reach out to customers and gain their trust. Often times, small businesses have more focused target audiences and this allows them to more easily understand what their customers and deliver a more custom shopping experience. A good example of this is Spearmint Love, a maternity digital commerce store who many expecting mothers have flocked to. Just this year, their revenue grew 991%. As an example of our own, we have seen Alicia Adams Alpaca increase anywhere from 200-665% per month when compared to the previous year without our team’s assistance.

Why People Choose to Shop Online

The bottom-line is more and more people would rather shop online than go into a physical store. Not only does it save time, consumers enjoy a wider selection, compare prices more easily to find better deals, read user reviews – and all without leaving the comfort of their home. Availability and selection are always big factors. If you are looking for a certain size or color and a store doesn’t have it, you may have to drive to a different store. It just isn’t convenient, especially if you are hauling around kids. As more and more retailers close their brick and mortar stores, even consumers who prefer shopping in person will be forced to look online to buy consumer goods.

Global Trends

Worldwide, digital commerce represented a tenth of all retail sales in 2017. While growth in Europe has been slightly slower than in Asia or North America, the general trend is still rapid growth. One thing pushing digital commerce growth is that simply more and more people around the world have access to phones, computers, and other mobile devices that have access to the Internet. Digital Commerce has transformed the way people shop by allowing people to buy internationally without having to travel.

What to Expect Going Forward

One issue digital commerce faces are delivery times and shipping fees. This is especially true of international sales. But there is no indication that this will slow down the growth of online sales, especially since the major online retailers are all constantly working on implementing delivery innovations. The trends suggest both in the US and around the world, digital commerce will continue to grow into the 2020s. Eventually, that growth rate will start to level off, especially as internet access becomes more uniform, however this won’t hurt online sales. The future of digital commerce looks strong.