North America Ecommerce — Research Findings (2024–2025)

Research compiled via web search. Every figure below carries its source URL and vintage. Where sources conflict, both are given and flagged. No numbers are invented; gaps are marked as "no reliable public figure found in searched sources."

Sales value

2024 (final): ~$1.2 trillion in US online retail sales — more than double 2019 levels. Source: Digital Commerce 360, "US ecommerce sales in 2024 more than double those of 2019" (Mar 2025): https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2025/03/03/us-ecommerce-sales-2024/ and https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/us-ecommerce-sales/
2025 estimate: ~$1.23 trillion (Digital Commerce 360 projection, made early 2025). Source (DC360 via Chinese trade media): http://www.zjmade.cn/ecloud/plat/site/detail.html?newsId=BE52F8A5050544DEA1CB16010C4CB52C and https://www.amz123.com/kx/3zKv8QQI#1
2025 actuals: December 2025 ecommerce sales pushed the full-year 2025 total past $1.5 trillion, and 2025 marked the fourth straight year of single-digit growth. Sources: https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2026/02/16/december-ecommerce-sales-total-2025/ and https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/us-ecommerce-sales/amp/
⚠️ Conflict flag: DC360's early-2025 estimate ($1.23T) vs. its later full-year figure ($1.5T+) differ by scope/timing; DC360's measures include categories the Census definition excludes (travel, digital goods, etc.). Use one definition consistently in the report.

YoY growth

2025 was the fourth consecutive year of single-digit growth (~4% range per DC360 headline). Source: https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/us-ecommerce-sales/amp/

Q4 2024: 17.9% of overall retail sales (US Census data). Source: PYMNTS, Feb 2025: https://www.pymnts.com/news/ecommerce/2025/ecommerce-grabs-17-9-percent-of-overall-retail-sales-in-2024s-fourth-quarter/
Q4 2025: ecommerce hit 25% of total retail sales for the first time (DC360 measure). Source: https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2026/04/02/online-ecommerce-sales-q4-2025/
March 2026: 16.90% ecommerce share of retail (Macrotrends, Census-based series). Source: https://www.macrotrends.net/3245/e-commerce-sales-percentage
⚠️ Conflict flag: Census-based share (~17–18%) is materially lower than DC360's adjusted share (25% in Q4 2025) because DC360 adds categories not in Census ecommerce.

Total retail context

NRF forecast 2025 US retail sales (incl. food services) at least $5.42 trillion. Source: https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-forecasts-2025-retail-sales-to-hit-5-42-trillion-despite-economic-uncertainty

Forecast

Forrester: online's share of US retail to top 29% by 2029; Amazon + Walmart expected to capture one-fourth of US retail sales by 2029. Sources: https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/features/industry-insights/forrester-forecast-onlines-share-of-u-s-sales-to-top-29-by-2029 and https://chainstoreage.com/forrester-amazon-and-walmart-capture-one-fourth-us-retail-sales-2029
US eMarketer forecast 2024 (US Ecommerce Forecast 2024): https://www.emarketer.com/content/us-ecommerce-forecast-2024 (paywalled detail; cited as a primary forecast source).
eMarketer also notes ecommerce continues to grow its share of total retail, "though progress is slow": https://www.emarketer.com/content/ecommerce-continues-grow-its-share-of-total-retail--though-progress-slow

2. Canada

Growth slowed in 2025 while the rest of the world surged ahead ("Canadian e-commerce growth slowed in 2025 as the rest of the world surged ahead", The Hub, May 2026). Source: https://thehub.ca/2026/05/15/canadian-e-commerce-growth-slowed-in-2025-as-the-rest-of-the-world-surged-ahead/
Ecommerce share of retail — definition gap: StatCan data put online share of retail at 5.7%, while commercial forecasters put it at ~12%. Source: https://eightx.co/blog/canada-ecommerce-retail-share-2026
Top platforms (2025 report): Amazon leads Canadian online retail; Walmart and national players Loblaw, Best Buy Canada, and Canadian Tire are strengthening marketplace and loyalty integration. Source: Research and Markets / GlobeNewswire, "Canada B2C Ecommerce Market Report 2025" (Jan 2026): https://www.globenewswire.com/de/news-release/2026/01/29/3228301/28124/en/Canada-B2C-Ecommerce-Market-Report-2025-Amazon-Leads-Online-Retail-While-Walmart-and-National-Players-Loblaw-Best-Buy-Canada-and-Canadian-Tire-Strengthen-Marketplace-and-Loyalty-In.html and https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/6191215/canada-b2c-ecommerce-market-size-and-forecast
Chinese marketplaces penetration: 60% of Canadians shop at Chinese marketplaces — 1 in 10 weekly (Omnisend survey, 2025). Sources: https://www.omnisend.com/blog/canada-chinese-marketplaces-research/ and https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2025/09/chinese-marketplaces-gain-ground-with-canadian-shoppers/
Official retail data: Statistics Canada Annual retail trade 2024 (Canadian ecommerce is embedded in StatCan's digital-economy data): https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/app/9013-annual-retail-trade-2024 and https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260211/dq260211b-eng.htm
US ITA market-intelligence page on Canada e-commerce (country-level market background): https://www.trade.gov.http.akamai-trials.com/market-intelligence/canada-e-commerce
⚠️ Gap: No single reliable USD/CAD market-size figure for Canada was surfaced in the searches (Research & Markets, Euromonitor, IMARC reports are paywalled). Treat size claims from aggregator sites as unverified.

3. Mexico (strong growth market)

Size & growth

2024: MX$789.7 billion (~US$38.844 billion), +20% YoY (AMVO, Mexico's ecommerce association). Sources: https://mexicobusiness.news/ecommerce/news/mexicos-e-commerce-market-was-worth-mx7897-billion-2024 and https://www.americaeconomia.com/en/node/290899 and https://www.opportimes.com/en/mexicos-e-commerce-grew-20-in-2024/
2025: MX$941 billion, +19.2% per AMVO (reported Mar 2026). Sources: https://www.dny1.com/Main/ArticleDetails?id=952217255721046016 and https://www.ennews.com/news-128366.html and (AMVO 2025 online-sales +19%) https://mxhuaren.com/news/81400.html
Ecommerce now rivals/beats brick-and-mortar growth; one report headline: "Mexico E-Commerce Jumps 24%, Surpassing Brick-and-Mortar." Source: https://mexicobusiness.news/ecommerce/news/mexico-e-commerce-jumps-24-surpassing-brick-and-mortar
Ecommerce ~6.9% of GDP in 2024 (per AMVO data as reported). Source: https://mexicobusiness.news/ecommerce/news/mexico-e-commerce-hits-69-gdp-2024

Ecommerce growth is driven through mobile and social sales (Mexico Business News). Source: https://mexicobusiness.news/ecommerce/news/mexico-sees-e-commerce-surge-through-mobile-and-social-sales
Social commerce in Mexico forecast to reach ~US$5.09 billion in 2025. Sources: https://www.yilantop.com/news/77243 and https://www.ennews.com/news-117543.html
Fashion & beauty drive ~40% of SME ecommerce in Mexico. Source: https://mexicobusiness.news/ecommerce/news/sme-e-commerce-mexico-driven-40-fashion-beauty

4. Key Platforms in North America

Amazon (US)

Amazon GMV surpassed $800 billion in 2025 (Marketplace Pulse). Source: https://www.marketplacepulse.com/articles/amazon-gmv-surpassed-800-billion-in-2025
Amazon + Shopify now control nearly half of US ecommerce (Marketplace Pulse, 2025). Sources: https://www.marketplacepulse.com/articles/amazon-and-shopify-are-now-half-of-us-e-commerce and https://www.ecomcrew.com/amazon-and-shopify-now-control-nearly-half-of-u-s-e-commerce/
Amazon ≈ 40% of US ecommerce sales (2025 estimate circulating in trade press). Source: https://www.ecexpress.com.cn/mo/article/1306.html
Amazon's share of US ecommerce statistics roundup: https://axis-intelligence.com/amazon-statistics/
Amazon seller registrations hit a decade low in 2025 (~165K new sellers). Sources: https://www.marketplacepulse.com/articles/amazon-seller-registrations-hit-decade-low-in-2025 and http://scaledon.com/amazon-seller-consolidation-only-165k-new-sellers-in-2025-what-it-means-for-you/

Walmart (US)

Q4 FY2025 (ended Jan 2025): ecommerce +21% YoY, ~18% of total sales. Source: https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2025/02/21/walmart-online-sales-q4-fy25/
Q1 FY2026: net sales $112.2B (+3.2%), eCommerce +21% (company 8-K). Source: https://content.edgar-online.com/ExternalLink/EDGAR/0000104169-25-000069.html
Q2 FY2026: net sales $120.7B (+5.1%), eCommerce +28% (company 8-K). Source: https://www.advfn.com/stock-market/NASDAQ/WMT/stock-news/97284389/form-8-k-current-report
Walmart Marketplace: >200,000 active sellers in 2025 (Cross-Border Magazine). Source: https://cross-border-magazine.com/walmart-marketplace-growth-surges/

Temu / Shein (US penetration)

Temu & Shein are among the top online stores in the US (Statista chart). Source: https://www.statista.com/chart/35063/most-popular-online-retailers-in-the-us/
US consumers kept shopping Temu/Shein despite tariffs — ~12% shopped them weekly as of Aug 2025. Source: https://www.chwang.com/news/196529428230 (survey coverage)
Chinese bargain marketplaces bounced back after price hikes/tariffs (Omnisend consumer research). Source: https://www.omnisend.com/blog/us-chinese-marketplaces-research/
eMarketer: shoppers may abandon Temu/Shein amid price hikes (risk note): https://www.emarketer.com/content/shoppers-may-abandon-temu--shein-amid-price-hikes

TikTok Shop (US)

2025 US GMV: US$15.1 billion, +68% YoY (Momentum Works report). Source: https://thelowdown.momentum.asia/new-report-tiktok-shop-u-s-gmv-grew-68-to-reach-us15-1b-in-2025/ (also ~$15.8B in Chinese press: https://wap.zhengguannews.cn/html/zgh/376864.html)
TikTok Shop ≈ 18–20% of US social commerce in 2025; eMarketer: US sales +108% in 2025, ~57.7M US shoppers expected in 2026. Sources: https://www.emarketer.com/press-releases/tiktok-shop-makes-up-nearly-20-of-social-commerce-in-2025/ and https://m.163.com/dy/article/KGRF27R805118A6A.html

5. Consumer Behavior (US focus)

Online shopper penetration & spend

~274 million people shop online in the US in 2025 (~80%+ of population). Source: https://www.upcounting.com/fr-ca/blog/how-many-people-shop-online
62% of US consumers spend >$500/year online (consumer survey coverage). Source: https://www.ikjzd.com/news/291046
Statista US online-shopping-behavior topic/dossier (paywalled aggregator): https://www.statista.com/topics/2477/online-shopping-behavior/

Mobile commerce

Smartphones accounted for ~72% of online transactions in the US in 2024, growing ~12% CAGR through 2030; mobile commerce ≈44% of US ecommerce sales by 2026. Sources: https://www.amraandelma.com/us-mobile-commerce-statistics/
Adobe: mobile shopping drove 53% of online sales during the 2024 holiday season. Source: https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2024/08/21/adobe-analytics-mobile-shopping-expected-drive-53-percent-online-sales-during-2024-holiday-season

Cross-border buying

Cross-border ecommerce in North America (Statista study): https://www.statista.com/study/53566/cross-border-e-commerce-in-north-america/
Cross-border online shopping statistics (Capital One Shopping, 2026): https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/cross-border-online-shopping-statistics
Top online retailers most dependent on international sales (DC360): https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2025/02/06/ecommerce-trends-top-online-retailers-international-sales/
⚠️ Gap: No single clean % of US shoppers buying cross-border was surfaced; Temu/Shein weekly-shopping survey (section 4) is the closest US-specific proxy.

BNPL

Half of US shoppers planned to use BNPL for the 2025 holiday season (PayPal survey, Oct 2025). Sources: https://retailgazette.com/blog/2025/10/half-of-us-shoppers-plan-to-use-buy-now-pay-later-this-holiday-season-paypal-finds/ and https://www.retaildive.com/news/half-of-shoppers-plan-to-use-bnpl-this-holiday-season/803859/
BNPL added ~$1 billion to Cyber Monday sales (2025). Source: https://www.newsweek.com/buy-now-pay-later-gives-1-billion-boost-to-cyber-monday-sales-11151133
~45% of Americans leaned on BNPL, carrying $55B in post-holiday debt (Sept 2025 survey coverage). Source: https://metroatlantaceo.com/news/2025/09/americans-carry-55-billion-post-holiday-debt-45-lean-buy-now-pay-later/

TikTok Shop ≈ 18–20% of US social commerce 2025 (see section 4 sources). Additional coverage: https://www.bianews.com/news/details?id=226859 and https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tiktok-shop-driving-social-commerce-125400266.html

6. Notable Trends 2024–2025

Marketplace expansion

Amazon + Shopify ≈ half of US ecommerce; Walmart Marketplace passed 200K sellers; Canadian players (Loblaw, Best Buy Canada, Canadian Tire) expanding marketplaces (sources in sections 2 & 4).

Retail media

>$10 billion in incremental ad spending flowed into US retail media in 2025. Source: https://www.emarketer.com/content/10-billion-incremental-ad-spending-will-flow-us-retail-media-2025 (overview: https://www.emarketer.com/content/what-advertisers-retailers-need-know-about-retail-media-2025)

AI shopping assistants

AI-powered shopping surged ~805% on Black Friday 2025; AI chatbots helped drive record US holiday online spend of ~$257.8 billion in the 2025 season. Sources: https://www.moneycontrol.com/world/black-friday-s-new-influencer-ai-powered-shopping-surges-805-as-online-spend-hits-new-us-record-article-13703025.html and https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikestunson/2026/01/07/ai-chatbots-help-drive-record-holiday-spending-data-suggests/
~30% of US consumers would trust AI agents with purchases (Contentsquare). Source: https://contentsquare.com/press/ai-is-reshaping-online-shopping/
YouGov: AI shopping assistants catching on but shoppers still need convincing: https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/52608-ai-shopping-assistants-are-catching-on-but-shoppers-still-need-convincing

Tariffs & cross-border (Temu/Shein)

May 2025: US cut the "de minimis" tariff on small China parcels to as low as 30% (Reuters). Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-cut-de-minimis-tariff-china-shipments-54-120-2025-05-13/
Sept 2025: the de minimis exemption effectively ended, disrupting small shippers and raising prices/ship times. Sources: https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2025/09/04/when-de-minimis-rules-ended-ecommerce-changed/ and https://specialty-retailer.com/2025/09/04/end-of-de-minimus-exemption-disrupting-small-businesses/ and https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/economy/2025/08/29/impact-of-de-minimis-import-tariffs-end-on-u-s-shein-and-temu-sales/
Despite tariffs, Temu/Shein demand rebounded (Omnisend + weekly-shopping survey, section 4).

Amazon's latest moves

Amazon GMV >$800B in 2025; new-seller registrations at decade low; Amazon defending its ecommerce advantage (eMarketer): https://www.emarketer.com/content/amazon-protects-ecommerce-advantage-2025

7. Regional Context — North America vs Global

Global ecommerce exceeded $6 trillion in 2024 (top-10 markets coverage; China, US, UK lead). Sources: http://ecexpress.com.cn/article/1069.html and https://www.amz123.com/t/5igvJUnl
2025 top-20 ecommerce markets: China, US, UK rank top three. Source: https://www.amz123.com/t/prgjQ5CW
eMarketer Worldwide Retail & Ecommerce Forecast 2025 (Midyear Edition) — authoritative regional split: https://www.emarketer.com/content/worldwide-retail-ecommerce-forecast-2025-midyear-edition
North America concentration: top-5 players hold ~60% share of North America ecommerce; Amazon leads all markets (trade-press coverage). Sources: https://www.chwang.com/news/193517126465 and http://m.by56.com/news/49831.html
⚠️ Conflict flag: a Chinese aggregator cites global B2C ecommerce at "~$7.5 trillion (+115%)" — the +115% figure is implausible; treat $6T+ (2024) as the defensible global anchor, and note estimates vary $6–7.5T by source/definition. Source: https://www.sgpjbg.com.cn/hyshuju/bf851e08bb72b6d04c87533c348e5976.html

Data quality & conflict summary

US ecommerce value: DC360 $1.23T (2025 estimate) vs $1.5T+ (2025 actual, wider scope) — pick one definition.
US ecommerce share: Census-based ~17–18% vs DC360-adjusted 25% (Q4 2025) vs Forrester 29% by 2029.
Canada: 5.7% (StatCan) vs ~12% (forecasters) online share; no verified market-size USD figure found.
Mexico: MX$789.7B (2024) / MX$941B (2025) per AMVO; "6.9% of GDP" should be re-checked against "share of retail trade" before use.
TikTok Shop US: $15.1B (Momentum Works) vs ~$15.8B (Chinese press) for 2025 — same data, minor rounding/scope variance.
Global: $6T+ (2024) vs $7.5T aggregator claim — flag the latter.