E-commerce use in UK tops 50 million customers
The UK e-commerce market is expected to surpass 50 million people for the first time by the end of 2024, following several years of strong growth.[1]
Forecasts published by Statista show that there were around 48 million e-commerce shoppers in Britain in 2023. But the full-year figure for 2024 is predicted to come in just over the 50 million milestone.
This compares with a total UK population of 68.6 million people of all ages[2], which suggests that nearly three quarters of all men, women and children in the country now shop online at least some of the time.
Near-universal e-commerce uptake is coming
The sky is the limit for UK e-commerce uptake as a growing percentage of a growing population, taking the market size beyond the 50 million threshold in the second half of the 2020s.
Although this figure may already sound high, it’s predicted to climb substantially by the end of the decade. Statista expects that by 2029, the market penetration rate of UK e-commerce will stand at an all-time high of 97.25%.[3]
British retailers face a choice: adopt e-commerce logistics and marketing practices that tap into this rapid growth, or get left behind as part of the UK’s dwindling physical-only retail segment.
Why has e-commerce grown so fast?
E-commerce uptake has continued at a pace since the Covid pandemic in 2020-21, which forced many retail businesses to adopt online trading, home delivery and click-and-collect.
With restrictions in place for months, including total closures of non-essential retail, many shopkeepers looked to sell online as an overnight alternative, often asking customers to collect goods in person from stockroom doors and car parks.
This has led to the perception that 2020-21 was an exception, rather than an acceleration of a trend that was already taking effect.
However, online shopping was already growing fast in the years before the virus was first detected. Between 2017 and 2020, the UK e-commerce audience increased from 35 million to 42 million, a 20% rise.
When did e-commerce grow the most?
The fastest growth was seen in 2019, before the first reports of the virus and before the national lockdowns went into effect.
It’s an indication of the long-term interest in e-commerce, which offers consumers a convenient way to shop for items that might not be available in local stores, with all of the added benefits of doorstep delivery and/or in-store pickup.
While the pandemic pushed more physical retailers to sell online, it acted as a catalyst for a change that was already occurring at a considerable pace, and which has continued to show steady gains in the post-pandemic era.
The UK: Europe’s leading e-commerce market
The UK is not just a mature and growing e-commerce market; figures show it is the largest in Europe, with a value of nearly $130 billion (£100 billion) in 2024.[4]
Compared with other European markets, that’s 32% higher than Germany, 95% higher than France and 102% more than Italy by total sales value.
Reaching out in this way is vastly underused as a means to surprise and delight customers, and can work well alongside loyalty apps and other digital incentives, so that you do not miss out on engagement from consumers who are not regular app or smartphone users.
For context, the UK’s total population is just 15% higher than Italy, 5% more than France and 23% less than Germany, indicating the greater value per person among UK e-commerce consumers.[5]
UK as a global e-commerce presence
On the world stage, the UK e-commerce market ranks 4th behind only China ($1.5 trillion), the USA ($1.2 trillion) and Japan ($169 billion).
Statista forecasts continued strong growth in the value of UK e-commerce in the years ahead, rising to $144 billion (+11%) in 2025, $170 billion (+31%) in 2027 and nearly $190 billion (+45%) in 2029.[6]
That means by the end of the decade, UK shoppers could be spending more than £150 billion each year, an average of over £2,000 per person as the population nears 70 million.[7]
E-commerce vs. bricks-and-mortar
While the fastest increase in the volume of e-commerce users was seen in the year prior to the pandemic’s outbreak, the lockdowns of 2020 drove online shopping significantly higher as a share of total UK retail.
From about 32.5% in 2020, e-commerce grew to around 37.5% of UK retail sales by 2021.[8] This increase is predicted to sustain throughout 2025, with modest further growth taking e-commerce to a new high of 38.1% of total spending.
In the immediate post-pandemic period, there was a bounce-back to physical retail as shops were able to open their doors once again; however, e-commerce continues to trend upwards both in terms of customer numbers and total value of spend.
Seasonal patterns in UK e-commerce
Seasonal trends in the annual sales cycle see e-commerce spike each winter[9], likely driven by consumers shopping for presents in the run-up to Christmas, but also potentially due to the convenience of home delivery during the colder, wetter months.
November is the highest month of all, as pre-Christmas purchases are buoyed by Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. A smaller summertime rise in spending is also usually seen each July, although this is less pronounced.
Regardless of this seasonal variation, Statista’s data shows that in any given month of the year, internet sales as a percentage of total UK retail are around 0.5-1.0 percentage points higher than 12 months previously.
How to embrace e-commerce
Whether your business is big or small, e-commerce can help you to grow beyond bricks and mortar. MRM have off-the-shelf and fully bespoke options available.
It’s important to consider end-to-end e-commerce logistics and fulfilment, including payment processing, warehousing and stock management, plus how you will manage returns.
By taking all of these into account from the outset, you benefit from a fully integrated e-commerce solution with 24/7 access to real-time reporting, and with good customer service as a built-in priority.
As the UK e-commerce market continues to grow, this positions your brand as a firm fixture in the online segment, allowing you to offer a smooth customer experience across desktop, tablet and mobile devices, in addition to your bricks-and-mortar retail presence.
Get started with MRM
We welcome all enquiries, from businesses looking to start selling online, through to existing e-commerce brands keen to take a more effective approach to warehousing, order fulfilment and customer service.
To find out more about how MRM can build your e-commerce revenues in 2025 and beyond, contact our team today or call us on 01858 410510.
[1] https://www.statista.com/forecasts/477128/e-commerce-users-in-the-united-kingdom
[2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/263754/total-population-of-the-united-kingdom/
[3] https://www.statista.com/forecasts/891311/digital-buyer-penetration-in-the-united-kingdom
[4] https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1283912/global-revenue-of-the-e-commerce-market-country
[5] https://www.statista.com/markets/411/topic/446/demographics/#statistic1
[7] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trend-deck-2021-demographics/trend-deck-2021-demographics
References
https://www.statista.com/topics/2333/e-commerce-in-the-united-kingdom/
https://www.statista.com/forecasts/477128/e-commerce-users-in-the-united-kingdom
https://www.statista.com/statistics/263754/total-population-of-the-united-kingdom/
https://www.statista.com/forecasts/891311/digital-buyer-penetration-in-the-united-kingdom
https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1283912/global-revenue-of-the-e-commerce-market-country
https://www.statista.com/markets/411/topic/446/demographics/#statistic1
https://www.statista.com/statistics/285978/e-commerce-share-of-retail-sales-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/286384/internet-share-of-retail-sales-monthly-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/