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Online commerce is expanding through a combination of wider participation, easier access, more ways to discover and pay for goods, and broader delivery and market reach. No single factor explains the growth in every country. Official evidence from Japan, Canada, the Philippines and the European Union shows different parts of the picture—and the figures measure different things, from sales value to shopper participation.
1. More people are participating in online shopping
Online commerce can grow when more people buy through digital channels, as well as when existing shoppers spend more. In the Philippines, 36.7% of internet users aged 10 and above purchased goods or services online in 2024, compared with 23.7% in 2019, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This is a participation measure, not a measure of how much those shoppers spent.
Age and market conditions matter, too. In the EU, 53% of residents aged 65 to 74 shopped online in 2024, according to Eurostat. That statistic shows online shopping is not limited to younger adults, but it does not establish the rate for every age group or country.
2. Online sales are growing alongside, and faster than, retail overall in some markets
Market-level sales data show online retail gaining value in several countries, though the figures are not directly comparable across them. Japan recorded 26.1 trillion yen in business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce in 2024, up 5.1% from 2023. Its B2C ecommerce ratio—the share of relevant transactions conducted online—was 9.8%, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s 2025 release of its 2024 survey. In Canada, retail ecommerce sales reached $73.7 billion in 2024, up 9.0%; total retail operating revenue increased 3.0% that year. Statistics Canada reports these as different measures, so the growth rates provide context rather than a like-for-like comparison. See METI’s survey results and Statistics Canada’s annual retail trade release.
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These outcomes are consistent with continued channel shift, but sales growth alone cannot tell us why shoppers changed their habits or how much any one factor contributed.
3. Mobile access makes shopping available wherever people connect
Smartphones put storefronts and shopping apps within reach without requiring a desktop computer. In the Philippines, 66.6% of online buyers used smartphones in 2024, according to the PSA’s National ICT Household Survey. This is evidence about device use among buyers in that country—not a global estimate, nor proof that mobile access alone caused online commerce to grow.
4. Social platforms help shoppers discover products and sellers find buyers
Social media can connect product discovery, seller communication and purchase activity in one channel. In the Philippines, 94.4% of online goods sellers used social media sites to sell in 2024, the PSA reported. For small businesses, social platforms can provide a route to reach customers; for shoppers, they can make products easier to encounter. The survey documents use of these channels, but does not quantify how much they contributed to sales growth.
5. Marketplaces and shopping apps give buyers and sellers another point of access
Ecommerce apps and websites bring product listings and shoppers together, while offering sellers a way to reach customers online. PSA survey findings document their use in the Philippines, including regional observations of app use in Cagayan Valley. Those regional findings should not be treated as national results. Nor do descriptive usage figures establish that marketplaces caused overall growth: they show that platforms are part of how people buy and sell in the surveyed setting.
6. Payment choice can make checkout fit different buyers’ needs
Customers may be more willing to complete an online purchase when the available payment method suits their circumstances and preferences. In the Philippines, the PSA reports that cash on delivery remained widely used and that sellers also reported mobile or electronic wallets. The data point to a mix of payment options, not proof that any particular method increases conversion or is appropriate in every market.
For shoppers, the practical question is whether the seller offers a payment option they can use and trust. For merchants, supporting suitable options means balancing customer convenience with the costs and risks attached to accepting and processing payments.
7. Convenient delivery and wider market reach extend what online selling can do
Delivery is part of the online offer
In the Philippines, 69.4% of online buyers preferred delivery for receiving purchases in 2024, according to the PSA. Delivery can make online buying practical when a store is distant or a customer cannot collect an order in person. The survey measures preference; it does not isolate delivery’s effect on ecommerce growth or establish that every delivery arrangement meets buyers’ expectations.
Cross-border trade and business-to-business sales widen the market
Online commerce includes more than consumer retail within national borders. In Japan, B2C ecommerce reached 26.1 trillion yen in 2024, while business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce reached 514.4 trillion yen, up 10.6% year over year. METI reported ecommerce ratios of 9.8% for B2C and 43.1% for B2B. These ratios describe distinct transaction types and should not be compared as if they measured the same market. METI also reports growth in cross-border purchases between Japan, the United States and China. Cross-border and B2B activity expand the reach of online transactions, but neither figure is a measure of consumer shopping alone. Details are in METI’s 2024 ecommerce survey results.
Keep the measures—and the markets—in perspective
Online commerce growth does not have one universal meaning. A rise in sales value, a higher share of people shopping online, and a greater proportion of transactions made digitally each describe a different outcome. The country evidence here illustrates several mechanisms and trends, but it is not a ranked causal model of the seven factors or a global forecast.
- Sales value: the amount of ecommerce revenue or transaction value recorded in a period.
- Participation: the share of a defined population that buys online.
- Ecommerce ratio: the share of a specified transaction market conducted through ecommerce; B2C and B2B ratios refer to different markets.
The PSA separately estimated the Philippine digital economy at PHP 2.25 trillion at current prices in 2024, equal to 8.5% of GDP and up 7.6% from 2023. That measure covers the digital economy, not ecommerce alone, so it should not be read as the size or annual growth rate of online retail. See the PSA’s digital economy release.
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