We are increasingly spending more of our time online, and that is leading to us spending more money there too. Online shopping, or eCommerce, is just one of the ways people all over the world spend billions a year digitally. There are a lot of advantages to shopping and spending online and a few disadvantages. Here are some surprising online spending stats and where we are collectively spending our money online.
Online Gaming
This accounts for more online spending than you might think. Playing games online costs very little to do, but it still generates $160 billion a year and is still growing. By the year 2025, gaming is projected to be worth more than a quarter of a trillion dollars to the global economy. Online gaming grew by 21.9% in 2021 and is projected to surge even higher by 2025.
One of the biggest drivers of this growth is online casinos. Millions of people across the world are playing classic casino and slot games right now. People play Jackpot Casino and enjoy both virtual and live games online, and these features are bringing even more players to the site. These online casinos are evolving all the time, growing their customer bases, and the level of online spending on gaming is growing with them.
eCommerce Growth
Online retail will always be king of the hill when it comes to online spending. Internet retail giants like Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba have dominated the eCommerce space for a long time, but now smaller-scale retailers can join in the fun through services like Shopify and Woocommerce. These platforms give the little guys a lot of power in the eCommerce space. Online retail is set to surpass $5.5 trillion in spending this year, and a big portion will be generated by ‘mom-and-pop’ eCommerce retailers.
This has led to huge growth in eCommerce, and big competition for the online retail giants. Consumers have benefitted from this, as more competition leads to lower prices in the shopping cart. Though the costs of goods are falling, spending is increasing. Brick-and-mortar retail outlets are the ones feeling the pressure, not Amazon.
Grocery Spending Is The Next Growth Market
Since the dawn of the internet, buying your groceries online has been touted as the future. Decades later, we are on the cusp of realizing this massive change in retail. Big retailers like Amazon and Fresh Direct have already made online grocery shopping easy, and brick-and-mortar retailers are taking notice. Walmart has been trying to expand its online services for years and is finally seeing consistent growth.
Delivery seems to be the biggest barrier to the growth of online grocery shopping. Reliable and timely deliveries are important in online retail, but when dealing with fresh and perishable foods it is imperative. The infrastructure for grocery deliveries needs investment, but with year-on-year growth in online grocery sales of 11% for Walmart alone, the money and incentive are there for retailers.
More and more of our spending is happening online, and this trend will grow, not plateau, or shrink. With some investment in infrastructure, all retail spending could soon take place online. The number of brick-and-mortar stores will dwindle, and they will become a novelty, not a necessity.