2023

REPORT

THE STATE OF
ECOMMERCE
CONTENT

Executive Summary
3-40 Key stats
Industry Outlook
GLOBAL Global Outlook
Beauty & Cosmetics
TRENDS IN Fashion & Apparel
Consumer Electronics
THE DIGITAL Online Groceries
Luxury & Jewelry
ECONOMY Marketplaces
Home & Garden
Looking forward
About Similarweb

Executive summary
41-60 Key stats
Market landscape
THE RISE OF Consumer insights
Market impact
BNPL The future
 2023
REPORT

GLOBAL TRENDS
IN THE DIGITAL
ECONOMY

Insights and Data

for the Ecommerce
Industry 2022-2023
CONTENT

5 6 7-8
Executive Summary Key stats Industry Outlook

9 10-14 15-18
Global Outlook Beauty & Cosmetics Fashion & Apparel

19-21 22-24 25-29

Consumer Electronics Online Groceries Luxury & Jewelry

30-33 34-36 37-38

Marketplaces Home & Garden Looking forward

39
About Similarweb
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
While Covid wreaked havoc on healthcare,
governments, and economies, there was one area
that experienced exceptional growth: ecommerce
The digital economy accelerated far quicker than
economic models predicted, but highs don’t last
forever. 2022 was a turbulent year, marred with
war, inflation and economic downturn, and as we
progress through 2023, cost of living crises are
deepening and recessions are on the brink - all
impacting the ecommerce bubble.
In this report, we’ve analyzed the numbers behind
the much-publicized slow-down of the digital
economy. By observing behavior of millions of
customers in the digital world as they navigate
desktop and mobile websites, as well as use
mobile apps, we can identify the major drivers
of consumer demand, size of digital industries,
and pockets of opportunity for growth.
We are operating in unique times. Traditional
economic models can and do predict consumer
behavior. For instance, we know that during
a recession or economic downturn, some
industries are robust, or even accelerate. Our
data confirms this general trend – there is
increased interest in the Beauty industry with
traffic growing 7% YoY, in line with the famous
‘Lipstick Effect,’ when people replace larger
expenses with affordable items to compensate.
Likewise we know certain industries fare worse:
Real Estate being a prime example. And – no
surprises – this is reflected in our data: categories
associated with house-buying have experienced
decline in the past year. The ‘Home & Garden’
category has declined by 7%, as fewer people are
furnishing and renovating homes.
But what economic models sometimes fail to
take into account is circumstance. We’ve not
THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE
Marta Sulkiewicz
VP Global Research
Solution
only lived through a global pandemic, but we’ve
also welcomed Gen Z and their new spending
power, habits, and behavior.
It’s also important to remember that online
demand across all industries is above pre-
Covid levels. Opportunities exist. Despite lower
purchase power, consumers still want to satisfy
their needs and maintain their current lifestyle,
and have grown accustomed to the consumer-
first nature of the ecommerce landscape.
Retailers need to consider more factors than
just price sensitivity - buyer journeys and user
experience should be front of mind.
A prime example of a shift in the buyer journey
can in the growing popularity of online retailers
offering Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) technologies
at check-out now outpacing their non-BNPL
equipped counterparts by 13% in converted
visits. And where demand is lower, increasing
conversions is more important than ever.
We also see that in declining industries,
adaptation to meet new demand is vital. Take the
Home & Garden category - while overall traffic
numbers to retailers are down, online demand for
DIY tools has grown by double digits on Amazon,
with a 25% hike in revenue YoY in the last 12
months (March 2022-February 2023).
This report gives a performance overview of
the digital economy by country and industries,
and highlights the opportunities available
for ecommerce retailers: expansion into new
product lines, new geos, or even new payment
technologies. Throughout , we frame those
opportunities in the context of Total Addressable
Market (TAM) for the countries studied.
Bottom line: the landscape is tough, but
opportunities exist.
5
KEY
STATS

-3% +9% YOY

Overall 3% drop in desktop & mobile web Luxury & Jewelry category web traffic up
traffic to all online categories 9% YoY

-5% +7% YOY

Online marketplaces received over 185.5B Beauty & Cosmetics category web traffic up
visits in 2022 (globally), 60% of all traffic to the 7% YoY
industries analyzed in this report

-7% 60%
The category with the biggest YoY traffic 60% of online searches for apparel have
drop was Home & Garden: down 7% a transactional intent (likely to lead to a
purchase)

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 6

GLOBAL INDUSTRY
OVERVIEW

Overview by 10%
Luxury & Jewelry
Industry Beauty & Cosmetics

5%
Size & growth
Fashion & apparel
matrix by industry
Groceries

2022 traffic & YoY 0%

Consumer Electronics
growth

Small, fast-growing
-5%
Big, fast-growing
Small, stagnating Home & Garden Marketplaces

Big, stagnating
-10%

25.00B 50.00B 75.00B 100.00B 125.00B 150.00B 175.00B

2022 was a challenging year for most industries and global economies.
Overall, our online traffic data shows a drop in visits of 3% for desktop &
mobile web to all online industries (or categories as we classify them).

Marketplaces continue to dominate the digital landscape amassing over

185.5B visits in 2022. Despite these colossal numbers, this represents a dip
from 2021, driven by macro-economic factors such as steep inflation, and
compounded by the return to in-store shopping and increased app adoption.

The top 20 marketplaces experienced dips, except for:

• Etsy, which grew 12% YoY
• Russian players wildberries.ru and ozon.ru, which benefited from Western
companies ceasing business operations in the country

After two years of the pandemic during which people spent more time
at home and more money furnishing it, visits to Home & Garden players
significantly dropped in 2022, by 7%. With growing inflation, real estate has
slowed down - so the need to furnish new homes has declined. Moreover, the
return to office represents a return to pre-pandemic priorities, with 40% of
our 2509 survey respondents buying office clothes between February 2022
and January 2023.

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 7

 Some industries are still growing globally:
• Luxury & Jewelry is seeing the highest increase in global traffic (+9%
YoY)
• Beauty & Cosmetics achieved a 7% YoY traffic growth, confirming
the economic theory that in a recession, consumers will swap more
expensive purchases for a smaller, more affordable expenditure, such
as beauty products: the lipstick effect

Despite several macroeconomic factors impacting consumers

across the world, online demand for all consumer goods categories
is still significantly above pre-Covid levels

Online demand 4.0B

change across
industries, pre &
post-Covid 3.0B

Worldwide, desktop
& mobile web,
January 2020 vs. 2.0B

January 2023

1.0B
Total Visits
January 2020

Total Visits 0.0K

January 2023 Consumer Fashion & Home & Beauty & Groceries Luxury &
Electronics apparel Garden Cosmetics Jewelry

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 8

GLOBAL
OUTLOOK

Ecommerce traffic Of the top 20 geographies for all industries analyzed in this report only four
per country nations saw positive traffic growth in 2022:

Beauty &
Cosmetics,
Fashion & Apparel,
Consumer Russia
Electronics, (6th, +7.3% YoY)

Online Groceries,
Luxury & Jewelry, India
Marketplaces, (3rd in traffic, +5.2% YoY)
Home & Garden
Vietnam
Categories
(19th, +16.3% YoY)

Worldwide, desktop Indonesia

(16th, +1.9% YoY)
& mobile web,
March 2022 -
February 2023

Brands & retailers looking to grow in 2023 should set their eyes on Asia
where India, Vietnam and Indonesia are experiencing increased demand

• Although traffic to all retail categories went down by 1.8% YoY, US’s 2022
traffic is about three times bigger than the runner-up, Japan (93.6B
visits vs. 31.4B visits), solidifying its place as the core ecommerce
market

• Despite experiencing high inflation (17.2% as of January 2023), Poland

has seen a spike YoY in online traffic to pricy consumer goods’ retailers
such as Consumer Electronics (+3.9% YoY in 2022), Luxury & Jewelry
(+9.7%), as well as for Fashion & Apparel (+6.2%); the influx of Ukrainian
refugees, often skilled workers, can definitely be seen as a driver for
ecommerce in Poland.

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 9

BEAUTY AND
COSMETICS

Nearly crisis-proof industry with many business opportunities to discover but

also threats to watch out for

Country with Country with highest Website with biggest

highest growth: market share: growth:
China United States

myglamm.com

Trends:
Asian beauty, fragrance samples & dupes, consumers favoring price comparison
(retailers over DTC)

2022 traffic: 2023 traffic:

+7% YoY +14% YoY

+7% +14%

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 10

BEAUTY
AND COSMETICS
Beauty & Cosmetics is the epicenter of the “lipstick effect” – the tendency of consumers to spend
on small luxuries, despite challenging economic times – even in countries like the UK, amidst a
cost of living crisis, and Russia, where uncertainties are heightened by the war with Ukraine and
embargoes from the West.

Overall, the Beauty & Cosmetics industry has experienced notable growth in recent years,
particularly in emerging markets. As consumers continue to embrace online shopping habits
developed during the pandemic, the industry has seen a surge in digitization and global expansion.
Asia has emerged as a powerhouse in the beauty market, with countries like China, India, and
Thailand experiencing significant YoY traffic growth in 2022. Moreover, several emerging countries'
beauty players were some of the fastest-growing sites globally. Interestingly, multibrand retailers
continue to dominate market share, capturing the majority of beauty ecommerce traffic despite
the growing direct-to-consumer trend (DTC).

Out of the top 10 biggest markets for beauty and cosmetics, only Japan and France saw a drop
in consumer visits. The industry is still digitizing, and pandemic shopping habits are sticking.

Top 10 countries
Country Traffic Share Visits 2022 Traffic growth YoY Inflation YoY
for the Beauty &
Cosmetics industry,
total traffic volume in United States 18.87% 3.8B 4.25% 6.41%

2022
Japan 14.42% 2.9B -1.92% 4.00%

Desktop & mobile web,

Jan-Dec 2022 vs 2021 China 7.54% 1.5B 41.31% 2.10%

Brazil 4.53% 907.6M 7.32% 5.77%

Traffic share out of

169 countries. Russia 4.41% 885.2M 8.38% 11.80%

Inflation data from

World Bank as of United Kingdom 4.13% 827.6M 0.90% 10.05%

January 2023
Poland 3.64% 730.2M 0.24% 17.20%

India 3.58% 717.9M 17.41% 6.50%

Germany 3.57% 715.2M 2.60% 8.70%

France 2.58% 516.4M -3.07% 5.99%

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 11

Key Stats • Beauty & Cosmetics see growth in emerging markets, with China, India,
and Brazil experiencing significant traffic growth YoY in 2022
• Online shopping habits from the pandemic persist, contributing to the
continued digitization of the industry
• Asia remains the most dynamic region for Beauty & Cosmetics, with
China, India, and Thailand leading in traffic growth
• Three Russian retailers, one Indian, one Hong Kong-based, and one
Brazilian retailer are among the top 10 fastest-growing Beauty &
Cosmetics ecommerce players globally
• Despite a focus on DTC trends, multibrand retailers still capture two-
thirds of beauty eCommerce traffic, particularly in the UK

Four of the top 10 countries in total traffic are emerging countries – China,
Brazil, Russia, and India, which represent a total addressable market (TAM)
of over 2.6 billion individuals. China has seen the most dynamic growth
(+41% YoY), with online beauty sales driven by restrictive quarantine
measures during 2022, followed by India (+17%). A report from Bain said
that total Chinese beauty sales (in-store & online) only shrank by 6% in
2022 (Forbes, 2023), with the ecommerce channel offsetting the decrease
in physical sales.

Fastest-growing Country Traffic Share Visits 2022 Traffic growth YoY Inflation YoY
beauty markets, YoY
China 7.54% 1.5B 41.31% 2.10%
traffic vs. countries’
inflation rate India 3.58% 717.9M 17.41% 6.50%

Thailand 1.26% 253.5M 15.44% 5.02%

Desktop & mobile web,
Jan-Dec 2022 vs 2021, Saudi Arabia 1.31% 261.7M 13.51% 3.40%

(inflation data from Jan Russia 4.41% 885.2M 8.38% 11.80%

2023)
Brazil 4.53% 907.6M 7.32% 5.77%

Canada 1.94% 389.9M 6.62% 5.90%

Spain 1.61% 322.0M 5.35% 5.89%

Netherlands 0.87% 175.3M 4.47% 7.60%

United States 18.87% 3.8B 4.25% 6.41%

• Asia remains the most dynamic region for Beauty & Cosmetics
companies. Alongside China, India and Thailand stand out in terms of
YoY traffic growth, with huge potential for both countries given their
TAM
• Saudi Arabia is at the bottom of the top twenty countries in terms of
traffic, but the wealth of its population makes it an interesting market
to explore
• The lipstick effect could also strongly apply to Russian consumers;
despite their country facing multiple embargos following the war in
Ukraine. Traffic to Beauty sites has is up 8% YoY, with consumers opting
to treat themselves often

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 12

Players from emerging countries are among industry’s fastest-growing
globally

Fastest-growing 100.0
Beauty & Cosmetics
websites
2022 traffic & YoY 75.0M
traffic growth

Global, desktop &

50.0M
mobile web, Jan-Dec
2022 vs. 2021

myglamm.com 25.0M

dossier.co
stylevana.com
cultbeauty.com 0.0M
randewoo.ru 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0%

fresha.com
goldapple.ru
letu.ru
thefragranceshop.co.uk
The top 10 fastest-growing Beauty & Cosmetics ecommerce players
eudora.com.br
globally include three Russian retailers (letu.ru, goldapple.ru & randewoo.
ru), one Indian retailer (myglamm.com), one Hong-Kong based retailer with
a global footprint (stylevana.com) and one Brazilian retailer (eurdora.com.
br). These distributors should not be overlooked by Western Beauty brands
that need to offset a weaker demand in their markets due to high inflation.

The UK Beauty market: despite brands hopping on the DTC trend,

multibrand retailers still capture two-thirds of Beauty ecommerce traffic

• In the second half of 2022, 66% of traffic to top Beauty players (>90K
monthly visits) went to retailers other than DTC sites
• In the second half of 2022, when the cost of living crisis played a
more important role in consumer spending, a majority of the fastest-
growing Beauty players in the UK were retailers (7 out of 10), allowing
shoppers to fetch the best offers for their favorite products
• Sephora made an impression, with visits to its UK domains amounting
to 5.2M in the second half of 2022, although they only launched in
October 2022
• Despite a slower increase in traffic in the UK compared to other
regions, UK retailers cultbeauty.com and thefragranceshop.co.uk
made it onto the list of fastest-growing global players, thanks to
a wide European footprint for the former and a strong consumer
demand for fragrance for the latter

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 13

Global Trend Dupes
how cheaper alternatives to luxury brands make their way
Highlight
into the Beauty industry

Dossier.co (89.5% YoY traffic growth), an online retailer specializing in making

low-priced alternatives to luxury fragrances, was the fastest-growing Beauty
player globally, revealing that although consumers want to treat themselves
to a nice fragrance, they want to do it in an affordable way. TikTok has been a
powerful growth driver for the brand, as the hashtag #dossier garnered over
290.3M impressions as of March 2023. On the platform, users share their
best “dupes”, or copycats, which aren’t counterfeits, rather reproductions
of expensive brands’ products. Dupes help the cost conscious consumers
achieve a balance between quality and price without paying for the label.

Beauty With traffic across all geographies seeing a 16.7% YoY increase in January-
ecommerce February 2023, it is very likely that more customers will rush online this
year to buy their favorite beauty products. These sites saw a +16% rise in
likely to keep unique visitors YoY for January-February 2023, as consumers were enticed
growing in by the possibility of finding the best prices and retailers increased efforts
2023 to provide them with a tailored, personalized online shopping experience.

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 14

FASHION
AND APPAREL

Large and growing market but traditional business models are being
disrupted by rising trends

Country with Country with highest Website with biggest

highest growth: market share: growth:
India United States

Vinted.co.uk

Trends:
environmentally friendly, second-hand, fast-fashion

2022 traffic: 2023 traffic:

+3% YoY +5% YoY

+3% +5%

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 15

FASHION
AND APPAREL
The online Fashion & Apparel industry is particularly interesting, as it has the highest transactional
search intent of any category. 60% of searches associated with this category are considered
‘ready-to-buy.’ This is especially impactful as no other industry gets above the 50% mark.

With consumer intent high, the outlook is promising in terms of demand: total traffic to the industry
went up 3% in 2022 compared to 2021. And things are looking even rosier this year: with data for
January and February 2023 showing a 12% uplift in YoY traffic.

Top 10 countries Country Traffic Share 2022 Visits 2022 Traffic growth YoY Inflation YoY
for the Fashion &
United States 25.10% 16.0B 9.19% 6.41%
Apparel industry
per total traffic Japan 7.84% 5.0B -4.34% 4.00%

volume in 2022 United Kingdom 7.65% 4.9B -6.25% 10.05%

Germany 4.86% 3.1B -0.65% 8.70%

Desktop & mobile
web, Jan-Dec 2022 India 4.61% 2.9B 17.11% 6.50%

vs. 2021 France 4.28% 2.7B -6.98% 5.99%

Poland 4.03% 2.6B 6.25% 17.20%

Spain 3.18% 2.0B 1.81% 5.89%

Brazil 3.18% 2.0B 5.78% 5.77%

Turkey 2.63% 1.7B -0.10% 57.68%

• The US is Fashion & Apparel’s biggest market in terms of traffic (over

16B visits in 2022) and market share: making up a quarter of the
industry’s traffic
• US traffic volume grew 9% YoY: despite its market size, opportunity to
grow still exists
• With the cost of living crisis further advanced in Europe, we see French
and British traffic respectively dropping by 7% and 6% in 2022 YoY
• Russia has the biggest YoY drop, dipping almost 15% in total traffic
• Despite Japan being the second in total traffic share for the industry,
it experienced a 4% YoY decline in 2022, as consumers cling to their
Covid savings (Nikkei, 2023); despite the country reopening and
household savings up 20%
• India saw the biggest growth (over 17% YoY) – we see this as the biggest
opportunity market
• Of the top 10 countries, 50% achieved YoY growth, but 50% declined

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 16

Trendwatch: what the fastest-growing websites tell us

Fastest-growing
Fashion & Apparel
sites, 2022 traffic &
100.0
YoY traffic growth

Global, desktop &

75.0M
mobile web, Jan-Dec
2022 vs. 2021

catalove.com 50.0M

vinted.co.uk
vinted.es
skims.com 25.0M

onequince.com
vinted.it
y-aoyama.jp 0.0M
shoppremiumoutlets.com 60.0% 80.0% 100.0% 120.0% 140.0% 160.0%
shopcider.com
bergdorfgoodman.com

The 10 fastest-growing Fashion & Apparel players globally highlight

key – yet contradictory – consumer trends for 2023 and beyond:

Consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental

Eco-friendly
footprint of their apparel purchases, with runner up Quince’s global traffic
DTC Brands growing by 156% YoY

Buying second-hand clothes has been normalized in Europe, as it’s an

Second-hand easy way for consumers to reduce both their carbon emissions and their
retailers clothing budget; Vinted racked three spots in the top 10. Vinted’s Android
app usage grew by 26% worldwide compared to 2021

Fast-fashion vs. designer clothes: the mid-market is absent from this

Fast-fashion ranking; Shein’s new challenger Shopcider.com achieved a 155% YoY
vs. designer traffic increase in 2022, with approximately 62M visits. With their low
prices and free returns, these Asian players will keep taking Western
clothes
markets by storm

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 17

Opportunity knocks: tap into India’s growing demand

India has seen the fastest YoY growth, with a 17% hike in yearly visits. We
see expansion into both the Indian market, and other growing markets
(such as South Korea) as being key for ecommerce growth.

Focusing on India, the top Fashion & Apparel companies show strong
brand loyalty and mobile-first behavior, with the majority of sessions
being in-app:

App traffic
dominating web Myntra 4.137B 956.8M
for major Indian
Apparel players AJIO 3.201B 521.8M

Desktop, mobile LimeRoaD 155.557M 27.2M

web and Android
app, Feb 2022 -
Jan 2023
Nykaa 192.469M 154.3M

Total App sessions 0% 25% 50% 75%

Desktop & Mobile
Visits

There were over 7.6B app sessions to these four leaders in fashion retail,
with total app sessions growing by 13% YoY. Myntra captured nearly 54%
of all visits. International brands’ biggest opportunities lie in partnering
with these top retailers to distribute their products in India.

Opportunity knocks:
Buy Now, Pay Later is a conversion ally for fashion retailers

Retailers without BNPL tech on their site will certainly be paying for it.
Considered a norm in the online fashion industry now, consumers –
especially Gen Z and young millennials – look to this payment option for
its convenience and ease.

In our survey, 72% of BNPL adopters used the payment option for fashion
purchases, and websites that offered the tech saw a 5% rise YoY of
converted customers vs. 1% for sites without . BNPL has moved from a
game-changer to a must-have in this industry, especially in the US.

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 18

CONSUMER
ELECTRONICS

Solid decline in the biggest global economies can be compensated by

consumer electronics companies finding alternative financing models or by
growth in the emerging markets

Country with Country with highest Website with biggest

highest growth: market share: growth:
Vietnam India

Grover.com

Trends:
shopping on marketplaces, renting goods, high impact of BNPL for conversion

-1% -5%
2022 traffic: 2023 traffic:
-1% YoY -5% YoY

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 19

CONSUMER
ELECTRONICS
In 2022, global traffic to Consumer Electronics sites went down 1% YoY, but this figure is not
representative of the norm in consumer behavior across the world. We observed many countries
with either double digit growth or decline. Consumers are shying away from buying new products,
preferring to delay spend, or opting to repair or rent their devices. In fact grover.com, an electronics
rental company, was the fastest-growing website in this industry last year, achieving 354% growth
in the US.

Total industry traffic is still up compared to pre-pandemic levels: 3.5B visits as of January
2023, compared to 2.9B visits in January 2020.

Top 10 countries Country Traffic Share 2022 Visits 2022 Traffic growth YoY Inflation YoY
for the Consumer
India 15.88% 8.52B 15.82% 6.50%
Electronics industry
per total traffic United States 14.53% 7.79B -6.39% 6.41%

volume in 2022 Japan 6.05% 3.24B -5.16% 4.00%

Vietnam 5.04% 2.70B 26.96% 4.89%

Desktop & mobile
web, Jan-Dec 2022 Germany 4.68% 2.51B -9.74% 8.70%

vs. 2021 Russia 4.55% 2.44B -15.38% 11.80%

China 3.39% 1.82B -10.03% 2.10%

Poland 3.07% 1.64B 3.92% 17.20%

Brazil 2.62% 1.41B 11.00% 5.77%

United Kingdom 2.52% 1.35B -12.78% 10.05%

• India overtook the US as the traffic share winner in 2022, taking nearly
16% of the market
• Where inflation is high, demand has dipped - most starkly in the UK
• Poland is the inflation exception; with a strong influx of Ukrainian
refugees, immigration may have driven the increased demand for
consumer electronics such as laptops or TVs
• There is strong potential in the ecommerce landscape in emerging
countries, especially in India, which is particularly tech savvy and
displays a YoY increase of almost 16% in total traffic towards consumer
electronics sites. The new middle-class represents the biggest TAM of
our ranking, and experts predict that Buy Now, Pay Later solutions will
drive further growth in 2023

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 20

Opportunity knocks: marketplaces & Buy Now, Pay Later

Even though traffic to Consumer Electronics retailers decreased in the US

by 6.4%, Amazon data shows an uptick by 5.8% YoY in units sold in 2022
(despite a 17% decrease in product views), suggesting that marketplaces
are the prime destination for consumer electronics’ purchases.

With increased cost of living, consumers are becoming more price

sensitive, especially for big ticket items. Using marketplaces for price-
matching, or placing products on marketplaces to get more views, should
be a key consideration for retailers in 2023.

Unlike in Fashion & Apparel, BNPL isn’t necessarily expected in the Consumer Electronics
space. However, we see a big trend in consumers using BNPL for bigger ticket items. In the US
alone our data found:

BNPL lift: +1%

vs -17% YoY BNPL-equipped retailers saw a drop of desktop converted visits of only
converted 0.6%, while retailers without BNPL’s converted visits fell by over 17% YoY

visits

Without BNPL: 26.7% of consumers using BNPL to purchase consumer electronics would
-26.7% less not have been able to buy without this financing option, representing an
customers additional potential drop of demand for the category

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 21

ONLINE
GROCERIES

Growth is slowing down in the most saturated markets but in the global
perspective there are many opportunities

Country with Country with highest Website with biggest

highest growth: market share: growth: (grocery chain in the
Midwest), +247% YoY
Poland United States

shop.fareway.com

Trends:
app adoption

2022 traffic: 2023 traffic:

+2% YoY -2% YoY

+2%

-2%
THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 22
ONLINE
GROCERIES
Online groceries really took off during the pandemic, not only as a convenience, but also a life-
line for many. While the industry had experienced extreme growth, popularity, and publicity pre-
pandemic, it was largely confined to cities and large metropolitan areas.

Despite 2022 being relatively Covid-free, global online traffic to grocery stores kept increasing,
specifically by 2% YoY. Unsurprisingly, top countries in visits are industrialized ones.

Top 10 countries Country Traffic Share 2022 Visits 2022

Mobile & desktop
Inflation YoY
growth
for the Online
United States 25.98% 3.27B 7.72% 6.41%
Groceries industry
per total traffic United Kingdom 15.04% 1.89B -14.18% 10.05%

volume in 2022 Germany 11.87% 1.49B 13.30% 8.70%

Australia 7.44% 935.70M 4.68% 11.10%

Desktop & mobile
web, Jan-Dec Japan 5.48% 689.99M 3.99% 4.00%

2022 vs. 2021 France 4.80% 604.44M 1.18% 5.99%

Canada 3.58% 450.02M 5.11% 5.90%

Poland 2.92% 367.46M 21.14% 17.20%

Turkey 2.87% 361.48M -5.49% 57.68%

Italy 2.84% 357.12M 8.77% 10.70%

• As the birthplace of online grocery shopping, the US takes the first spot
in traffic share and volume
• The US kept growing in 2022, rising by 8%, as online grocery shopping
became the norm
• All top 10 countries other than UK and Turkey experienced YoY growth
within this category
• Despite a sharp YoY decline of 14%, online groceries remain popular
in the UK. In fact, the US traffic volume was only 1.9x bigger than the
UK’s; whereas the US is 4.9X more populated than Britain. This can be
attributed to the UK’s smaller geographical size: with shorter distances
and better coverage throughout the UK
• When comparing the Online Groceries’ industry unique visitors
(desktop & mobile) in February 2023 to the total population, UK showed
higher penetration (47%) than the US (27%)

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 23

 27%
Online Grocery
market adoption in
the US vs UK 47%

U.S. & U.K, desktop &

mobile web, Feb 2023 0 100 200 300
Country population (Millions)

Opportunity In France, the homeland of cuisine, in-app visits to online grocery stores
grew by nearly 15% YoY in H2 2022, the fastest growth in the categories
knocks: analyzed in the report.
France leads
the way with In comparison, visits to Beauty retailers’ apps dropped by 23%,
grocery app Electronics by 30%, Fashion & Apparel by 8%. Traffic to Home & Garden
retailers only grew by 8%.
growth
Although the Online Grocery industry is far behind Fashion & Apparel in
app traffic size (214.7M in-app visits vs. 35.4M), it is ahead of the others
such as Beauty with just 5.9M in-app visits in H2 2022. This gap in usage
could be linked not only to the short product life cycle of groceries in
comparison to non-perishable consumer goods, but it also indicates the
importance of the online shopping experience, with grocery shopping
made possible anywhere and comfortably, whenever consumers have
spare time. Leclerc and Carrefour received 8.3M (9% growth YoY) and
6.7M (15% growth YoY) monthly app sessions respectively between July-
December 2022.

Global retailers should take note of this success story in France to

benchmark app adoption in their respective countries.

Monthly Android app 500.0M 20.00%

sessions per industry 14.50%

466.5M
8.05%
France, App, July-Dec 400.0M
2022 vs. 2021
1.11%
0.00%
Average Monthly
300.0M
App Sessions
July - December
2022 -7.52%

YoY change 200.0M 214.7M

-22.59% -20.00%

100.0M

-30.17%
16.8M 9.7M
35.3M 5.9M
0.0K -40.00%
Marketplaces Fashion & Groceries Home & Consumer Beauty
Apparel Garden Electronics

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 24

LUXURY
AND JEWELRY

Growing industry for most of the global markets, similar to beauty

demonstrating the proof of the "Lipstick effect"

Country with Country with highest Website with biggest

highest growth: market share: growth:
Vietnam United States

collectorsquare.com

Trends:
Buy Now, Pay Later, second-hand luxury, affordable jewelry

2022 traffic: 2023 traffic:

+9% YoY +11% YoY

+9% +11%
THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 25
LUXURY
AND JEWELRY
In the rapidly evolving world of ecommerce, the online Luxury & Jewelry industry emerged as
the fastest-growing sector of 2022. This remarkable growth can be attributed to two key factors:
widening economic inequalities leading to an increasingly affluent upper class, and the propensity
for consumers to indulge in affordable luxury items as they cut down on other expenses.

Interestingly, the industry's growth patterns resemble those of the Consumer Electronics sector,
with visits to Luxury & Jewelry sites in Western European countries declining as they grapple with
inflation. Japan and the US lead the market, followed closely by India, while G7 countries like the UK,
France, and Germany experience reduced visits due to challenging macroeconomic conditions.

Like Beauty & Cosmetics, Luxury & Jewelry highlights the impact of the lipstick effect. Even as
consumers cut down on some costs – for instance, traveling locally rather than to the other side of
the world – they may treat themselves to an affordable luxury product.

Top 10 countries for

Country Traffic Share Visits 2022 Traffic growth YoY Inflation YoY
the Luxury & Jewelry
industry for total
traffic share in 2022 United States 19.67% 1.21B 5.18% 6.41%

Desktop & mobile Japan 7.00% 431.79M 7.51% 4.00%

web, Jan-Dec 2022

vs. 2021 India 6.87% 423.81M 16.10% 6.50%

United Kingdom 6.54% 403.47M -1.85% 10.05%

Russia 5.85% 360.82M 10.85% 11.80%

France 4.44% 273.53M -7.10% 5.99%

Germany 4.12% 254.22M -1.75% 8.70%

Italy 3.46% 213.09M 16.56% 10.70%

Vietnam 3.24% 200.07M 29.40% 4.89%

Poland 3.11% 191.75M 9.73% 17.20%

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 26

Visits to Luxury & Jewelry sites in Western European countries are
down, as consumers are struggling with inflation in France, Germany,
and the UK.

• Japan is the second biggest online market for Jewelry & Luxury products, just behind the US. Both
countries experienced steady growth in total visits in 2022. The Indian upper class has also driven
industry traffic up by 16% YoY
• In the meantime, other countries of the G7 have suffered more from the macro-economic climate,
with visits to the Luxury & Jewelry industry down in the UK (-2%), France (-7%) and Germany (-2%)
• Poland is an interesting outlier, displaying both high inflation (about 17.2% as of January 2023) and a
almost 10% growth in online traffic to the Luxury & Jewelry industry. As salaries increased by 11.3% in
2022 (Trading Economics, 2023), the gap between inflation and wages growth is lower than in other
European regions. Thus, the increase in average prices has a lower impact on consumer spending
than in countries where wages barely grew in comparison to inflation, such as the UK

Top 10 countries for

Country Traffic Share Visits 2022 Traffic growth YoY Inflation YoY
the Luxury & Jewelry
industry by total
traffic growth in 2022 Vietnam 3.24% 200.07M 29.40% 4.89%

Desktop & mobile Spain 1.58% 97.25M 19.30% 5.89%

web, Jan-Dec 2022

vs. 2021 Italy 3.46% 213.09M 16.56% 10.70%

India 6.87% 423.81M 16.10% 6.50%

Korea, Republic of 0.89% 54.58M 11.32% 5.20%

Turkey 3.10% 191.18M 11.05% 57.68%

Russia 5.85% 360.82M 10.85% 11.80%

Poland 3.11% 191.75M 9.73% 17.20%

Australia 2.12% 130.91M 9.10% 11.10%

Canada 1.91% 118.05M 8.85% 5.90%

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 27

 South Korea’s traffic to Luxury & Jewelry sites has been steady in 2022,
given that the country did not battle inflation as much as other developed
South countries (5.2% as of January 2023). While the majority of traffic is captured
by gugus.co.kr, a multibrand luxury retailer (25.8% traffic share in 2022),
Korea Korean consumers have shown interest in high-end, legacy brands, with
tiffany.kr capturing almost 4% traffic share, compared with 2.9% for bulgari.
com, and 2.7% for cartier.com

Russia’s traffic to online Luxury & Jewelry sites went up +11% in visits YoY, and
top domains were retailers of affordable jewelry since gold and metal are
mined in the country and thus lower in cost than they would be elsewhere.

In Russia, we suspect average citizens, wary that their money could be

significantly devalued over time, are investing in jewelry, which is less likely to
Russia lose value than the Ruble. However, according to Artyom Sokolov (co-owner
of Sokolov group, a market leader), this increase in traffic may also be the
result of a changing consumer behavior, as customers of jewelry stores began
frequenting online channels more than malls in light of Western retailers
exit from the Russian market. As a result, growing online sales outbalanced
declining brick-and-mortar sales, resulting in just a 1.3% YoY decline in
revenue, which is less than expected given high inflation.

Legacy luxury brands make the masses dream, but consumers are
looking for affordable alternatives

Top Luxury & Jewelry 25.0M

brands per keyword

search volume & DTC
site traffic 20.0M
Worldwide, desktop,
Jan 2023

pandora 15.0M

rolex
swarovski
cartier 10.0M

omega
seiko
patek philippe 5.0M
tiffany
fossil
swatch 0.0K
tissot
200.0K

400.0K

600.0K

800.0K

1.0M

2.0M

4.0M

tag heuer
grand seiko
tudor
brilliant earth

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 28

 In January 2023, while luxury jewelry and watches represented nine out of
the 15 top brands in search volume, with the most popular brands being
Rolex (2.3M searches), Cartier (1.2M) and Omega (1.2M), Pandora was the clear
winner, capturing 2.3% of global traffic.

Although owning a Rolex or a Patek Philip watch might be the dream of millions
of individuals, Pandora is among the top player in many of the fast-growing
online luxury markets, including the UK (10.7%), Spain (10%), Italy (9% traffic
share), and France (5.6%). The Danish brand reported a 7% increase in net
revenue for 2022. Their revamped pricing strategy, offering luxurious charms
at a lower unit price made them well positioned to fight off against tighter
consumer budgets.

However, top Luxury & Jewelry brands still receive strong demand, including
on resale sites such as chrono24.com, where watch collectors can buy
and sell models across the world. Rolex was the most demanded brand by
segment traffic, as consumers are looking to skip the waiting list or potentially
acquire a vintage, more affordable watch.

Traffic to luxury Other brands

watches brands 55.0%

on resale retailer
Chrono24
Rolex
23.2%
Worldwide,
desktop, Mar 2022
- Feb 2023 Patek Philip
5.8%

Omega
12.0%

Fossil
0.0%

Cartier
4.1%

Resale was also popular in the broader Jewelry industry. Collectorsquare, a

curated second-hand luxury marketplace, was the fastest growing-growing
player worldwide in the Jewelry & Luxury category (+390% YoY traffic in
2022), with over 666K monthly visits throughout the year.

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 29

MARKETPLACES

Globally declining web traffic with few outliers in emerging markets

Country with Country with highest Website with biggest

highest growth: market share: growth:
Russia United States

ozon.ru

Trends:
Russian marketplaces growing, a breakout performance from Meesho in India,
amid overall decline

-5% -4%
2022 traffic: 2023 traffic:
-5% YoY -4% YoY

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 30

MARKETPLACES
Desktop & mobile traffic for marketplaces globally dropped 5% YoY.

We observe global decline in marketplace traffic (desktop & mobile web) by 5% YoY. Looking at
countries with the biggest traffic size, we found only three had positive growth. All digitally mature
countries like US, Japan, UK, Germany are experiencing 1 or 2 digits decline.

Top 10 countries for

Country Traffic Share Visits 2022 Traffic growth YoY Inflation YoY
marketplaces by
total traffic volume
in 2022 United States 24.13% 49.40B -5.76% 6.41%

Desktop & mobile Japan 8.66% 17.73B -4.01% 4.00%

web, Jan-Dec 2022

vs. 2021 Russia 5.93% 12.14B 20.29% 11.80%

China 5.75% 11.78B -11.12% 2.10%

Brazil 5.25% 10.75B -8.80% 5.77%

India 5.21% 10.67B 7.19% 6.50%

United Kingdom 4.93% 10.10B -15.74% 10.05%

Germany 4.59% 9.39B -9.89% 8.70%

Indonesia 2.85% 5.83B 4.78% 5.28%

Turkey 2.29% 4.69B -7.27% 57.68%

• Russian marketplaces experienced the highest traffic growth, largely

due to Western countries halting cross-border trade and the Russian
government allowing retailers to import overseas products.
• In March 2022, the Russian government began allowing retailers to import
overseas products to bypass manufacturers, enabling ecommerce
businesses to source their goods from middle-men in neutral or friendly
third-party countries (The Spectator, Jan 2022)
• Visits to marketplaces grew 20% YoY as Russian consumers were panic-
buying due to fears in supply chain issues and the initial fall of the Ruble.

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 31

Global Overview of the Top Players

60%
Top 10 marketplaces,
ranked by yearly
change 40%
42%

Desktop & mobile 20%

web, Jan-Aug 2022 18%

vs. Dec 2021 12%

0%
0% 0% -6% -6% -7% -8% -8% -9% -9%
-1% -3%

-12%
-20%
ozon.ru

wildberries.ru

etsy.com

aliexpress.com

amazon.in

amazon.co.jp

mercadoliver.com.br

amazon.de

ebay.com

amazon.com

taobao.com

amazon.co.uk

rakuten.co.jp

walmart.com

ebay.co.uk
• Among the top 100 biggest marketplaces in global traffic, only 44
experienced an increase in 2022 compared to the previous year; with
higher prices and the return of in-store shopping, consumers rushed less
frequently to these players than last year, even during Black Friday (673M
visits during 2022, vs. 713.3M in 2021)
• Fastest-growing actors include Russian players ozon.ru and
wildberries.ru, confirming an increase in popularity for Russian players
once Western platforms stopped trading (officially) in the country
during the war.

Meesho took the Indian marketplace space by storm thanks to its app
adoption, exceeding Amazon India in total digital traffic (app, desktop, and
mobile web)

• India was the sixth market in traffic size in 2022, and experienced a 7%
growth to its marketplaces compared to the previous year. Actors such as
Meesho drove category growth
• Meesho grew by 175% to 470.6M desktop and mobile web visits
in between February 2022 and January 2023. But Meesho’s app
performance was truly impressive, growing by nearly 50% in just one year
and taking the second place in app sessions just behind Flipkart. Amazon
India dropped to the third position after losing 17% app sessions in a year
• While most app users of these marketplaces are male, Meesho has
not only a greater share of women (26% vs. 18% for Flipkart and 21% for
Amazon India), but also a higher share of younger customers, with nearly
a third of its app users below 25 years-old, an ideal audience to drive in-
app adoption. More than Amazon or Flipkart, Meesho shoppers tend to
be regular social media users, representing an opportunity for brands to
exploit affiliate programs with influencers, particularly on Instagram, which
has the greatest user overlap with Meesho.

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 32

Gender & age
Meesho 58% 42%
distribution
for top Indian
marketplaces apps Flipkart 71% 29%

India, app, Mar

2022 - Feb 2023 Amazon India 68% 32%

50

40 40%
41% 41%

30
Meesho 30%
29%
27%
Flipkart
Amazon India 20 21%
20%
19%

10 12
12% 27%
11%
29%
9%

0% 0% 0%
0
18-24 yo 25-34 yo 35-44 yo 45-54 yo 55+ yo

Traffic growth 40.0B 60.0%

and share for

48.4%
meesho.com

Worldwide, 30.0B 29.6B 40.0%

desktop, Mar 2022
- Feb 2023

20.0B 21.4B 20.0%

App Sessions YoY 15.7B
Change

Total App Sessions

Feb 22 - Jan 23
10.0B 0.0%
Desktop & Mobile 0.1%
Visits Feb 22 -
Jan 23 -16.5%

2.3B 470.6M 3.6B

0.0K -20.0%
flipkart.com meesho.com amazon.in

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 33

HOME AND
GARDEN

Globally declining category but offering growth opportunities within

niche sectors

Country with Country with highest Website with biggest

highest growth: market share: growth:
Turkey United States

boels.com

Trends:
DIY

-7% -6.6%
2022 traffic: 2023 traffic:
-7% YoY -6.6% YoY

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 34

HOME AND GARDEN
After a rush to Home & Garden retailers during the pandemic, inflation and the cost-of-living crisis
of 2022 really took a toll on online traffic for the Home & Garden industry, with most of the top
markets for the category experiencing a drop in visits last year. This industry was likely the most
affected category by the decrease in available income, alongside Consumer Electronics, displaying
a higher correlation between above average inflation (>6.6%) and a drop in visits YoY across all
geographies.

Top 10 countries
Country Traffic Share Visits 2022 Traffic growth YoY Inflation YoY
for the Home &
Garden industry
by total traffic United States 30.70% 11.92B -5.65% 6.41%

volume in 2022
United Kingdom 8.41% 3.27B -14.48% 10.05%

Desktop & mobile

web, Jan-Dec France 6.21% 2.41B -14.51% 5.99%

2022 vs. 2021

Germany 6.10% 2.37B -12.33% 8.70%

Russia 5.74% 2.23B 6.46% 11.80%

Japan 4.22% 1.64B -8.28% 4.00%

Canada 3.92% 1.52B -15.15% 5.90%

Spain 2.82% 1.09B -3.46% 5.89%

Italy 2.72% 1.06B -2.50% 10.70%

Australia 2.49% 967.95M -5.44% 11.10%

• The 4 biggest markets in traffic share, the US, the UK, France, and Germany,
all experienced a drop in traffic YoY
• However, this decrease needs to be balanced against the net increase
of sales in 2021 and the longer product lifecycle than in other categories.
The lower demand in 2022 was indicative of a readjustment of demand to
normal levels
• The US saw a 5.7% drop in visits YoY despite milder inflation compared to
other countries, as consumers prioritized other purchases such as apparel

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 35

Trends spotlight: Tools & DIY

Tool rental
The fastest-growing website in the industry was boels.com (+255% YoY), a tool rental company
with a global footprint, serving both professionals and consumers – indicating the willingness of the
latter to undertake house renovation themselves in order to save money

In the Tool & DIY segment of the Home & Garden industry, Amazon is a top player, even
sometimes ahead of omnichannel brands

+25% YOY

Tools & Home Improvement was the fifth strongest Amazon US category
in terms of revenue for the period Feb ‘22-Jan ‘23, growing by over 25%
YoY to $28.4B.

+4% YOY

DIY & Tools Amazon UK: seventh strongest category, +4% in revenue YoY
to £1.2B, while omnichannel competitor Screwfix clocked in at about
£2.3B, according to Statista.

+8% YOY

DIY & Tools Amazon France: fourth strongest category, +8% in revenue
YoY to €1.6B, vs. €2.7M for Castorama, an omnichannel competitor
(Infonet.fr, 2022).

Expert commentary

Specialty retailers in these categories must respect Amazon’s ability to

take market share and consider how to counter its influence.

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 36

LOOKING FORWARD
2023 Outlook 2023 is a challenging year for retail business. We have interest rates and
inflation rising, while digital disruption is testing business models in a way
by Marta
that pushes business leaders out of their comfort zone.
Sulkiewicz,
VP Global Today, competition is fierce and every good idea that is publicized, is
Research adopted in an instant. Millennials and Gen Z play a critical role – digital-
Solution savvy generations who prioritize convenience and verify prices and find
affordable alternatives in seconds.

Generational preferences had been driving the decline of brick-and-

mortar retail, which was accelerated by the pandemic: in 2022 there were
approximately 700 malls in the United States, down from ~1000 malls in
2020. Nick Egelanian (SiteWorks), forecasts that by 2032 there will be
only 150 malls left.

While traditional retail suffers, ecommerce should be celebrating

incredible growth. If we look at the 169 global markets Similarweb
measures across desktop and mobile devices, the growth of digital
traffic compared to pre-Covid levels (January 2023 vs. January 2020) is
impressive. For categories which were digital heavy before Covid - like
Consumer Electronics or Fashion - we see growth of +17% and +20%
accordingly, for Groceries and Beauty it’s +53% and +43%, respectively.

That global 3-year perspective indicates why traditional retail is suffering

across the board. But zooming into the US and looking at the year-over-
year comparison, we see a very challenging landscape for digital retail.

This report shows global traffic to ecommerce websites went down by

3%, but when we zoom in on the US we see a decline of 1.8%. The biggest
decline is observed in Marketplaces, Consumer Electronics and Home
& Garden (-6% each), balanced by the increases in Fashion (+9%),
Groceries (+8%) and Beauty (+4%).

These important numbers show us where the demand is still growing.

However traffic is only the potential for monetization; whereas, real
business outcomes are hidden in how he customers convert. Our data
shows that converted visits for all US retailers decreased YoY, negatively
impacting Consumer Electronics and Home and Garden categories the
most, although staying positive for Fashion.

Big picture numbers, even if important in understanding the landscape,

are not enough to reveal either growth opportunities or threats.

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 37

A few • Consumer Electronics retailers with a BNPL payment method were
almost unimpacted by the decline of converted visits. (-17% without
examples
vs. -1% with BNPL).
of insights
from deeper • Beauty retailers suffered from a decline in converted visits as the
analysis in the demand for beauty products was monetized by Amazon (Fragrances
US include: +45% YoY).

• While the Fashion category has experienced 9% traffic growth, the

Chinese fast-fashion segment (led by SHEIN) has seen 35% growth.

• In the declining Home & Garden category, DIY & Tools segment
remains a green island. However, the most successful in monetizing
the demand are Amazon (+25% YoY traffic growth) and tool rental
companies (boels.com, +255% YoY).

With low barriers to entry and turbulent times, competing in the digital
world is intensifying. While customers' behavior is constantly changing,
new business models and new market players are popping up every day.
Digital retail disrupted traditional retail, but now is itself under…. digital
disruption.

Vietnam Market Report & Marketing Research by CTO Vietnam Network

THE STATE OF ECOMMERCE 38