Updated September 2026
The map of online retail has shifted since we first published this list in 2023. India has climbed into the top five, Canada and Australia have slipped out of the top 10, and cross-border rules have tightened in the US and EU. Here is our 2026 ranking of the largest eCommerce markets, with the latest verified figures for each and practical notes for sellers deciding where to expand.
Key takeaways
- China and the US are in a league of their own, with estimated 2025 online sales of physical goods of $2.04 trillion and $1.08 trillion (ECDB).
- The UK remains the third-largest market and one of the most online-heavy: 28.8% of retail sales were made online in August 2026.
- India is the big riser. Its e-retail market grew by an estimated 19–21% in 2025, much faster than mature markets such as Germany and Japan.
- How people pay differs sharply by market: super-app wallets in China, UPI in India, Pix in Brazil, invoice and PayPal in Germany, cards and convenience-store payment in Japan.
- Cross-border rules are tightening. The US ended duty-free de minimis for all countries on August 29, 2025, and the EU introduced a temporary €3 customs duty on low-value parcels from July 1, 2026. Price in duties and taxes before you expand.
How we ranked the markets
Each country measures eCommerce differently: some include travel and food delivery, others count only goods sold by retailers. To compare like with like, we ranked markets using one consistent source, ECDB, which estimates B2C online sales of physical goods and excludes services, digital media and B2B sales. For each market we then add the most recent official or industry figure in local terms. Treat positions 4 to 10 as close calls: they move depending on the definition used.
The 10 largest eCommerce markets at a glance
Market-by-market guide
1. China
Size and trend: Online retail sales reached 15.97 trillion yuan in 2025, up 8.6%. Online sales of physical goods grew a slower 5.2% and made up 26.1% of all consumer retail sales.
What sells and where: Fashion is the largest category at 34% of online goods revenue. Taobao/Tmall, JD.com and Pinduoduo lead, while Douyin and Xiaohongshu drive livestream and creator-led buying (US Commercial Service). Payments are ecosystem-driven, built around super-apps such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.
Seller tip: Cross-border channels such as Tmall Global and JD Worldwide let foreign brands test demand without setting up a local company. Budget for Chinese-language content and creator partnerships from day one.
2. United States
Size and trend: US eCommerce sales were $1.23 trillion in 2025, up 5.4%, or 16.4% of retail. Growth picked up in 2026: second-quarter sales rose 12.2% year over year.
What sells and where: Fashion is the largest category at 22% of online goods revenue, and ECDB ranks Amazon as the leading online retailer. Digital wallets were used in 40% of US eCommerce transactions in 2025, ahead of credit cards (32%), debit cards (16%) and buy now, pay later (6%).
Seller tip: With de minimis gone, low-value imports now pay duty, so compare the landed cost of shipping from overseas with holding stock in a US warehouse. Offer wallet checkout such as Apple Pay, Shop Pay and PayPal.
3. United Kingdom
Size and trend: The share of retail sales made online rose to 28.8% in August 2026, and online sales values were 8.9% higher than a year earlier.
What sells and where: Fashion accounts for 30% of online goods revenue. Amazon.co.uk is the biggest player, followed by grocers Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda, and Argos (US Commercial Service). The UK is a card-led market where wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal are mostly funded by cards.
Seller tip: Overseas businesses must register for UK VAT from their first UK sale, with no £90,000 threshold, and must charge VAT at checkout on direct sales of consignments worth £135 or less.
4. India
Size and trend: Bain and Flipkart estimate India’s e-retail GMV at $65–66 billion in 2025, up 19–21%, with nearly 300 million annual shoppers and quick commerce worth $10–11 billion. ECDB’s broader estimate is higher, which is why India’s rank varies by source.
What sells and where: Electronics lead at 23% of online goods revenue, and Flipkart, Amazon and Myntra are the top retailers. UPI handled a record 24.51 billion transactions in August 2026.
Seller tip: Foreign-owned companies can run a marketplace model, but not an inventory model, so selling through marketplaces or local partners is usually the simplest route. Support UPI and price for value.
5. Japan
Size and trend: Japan’s B2C eCommerce market grew 5.1% to 26.1 trillion yen in 2024, including services. Online sales made up just 9.78% of product retail, so there is still room to grow.
What sells and where: Food and drink, apparel and electronics are the largest product categories. Rakuten, Amazon Japan and Yahoo! Shopping dominate. In a survey cited by the US Commercial Service, 76.7% of consumers had paid by card online, 34.7% at a convenience store and 17.8% by cash on delivery.
Seller tip: Start on Rakuten or Amazon Japan, write detailed Japanese product pages and offer konbini (convenience store) payment.
6. Germany
Size and trend: Online goods sales rose 3.2% to €83.1 billion in 2025, and the industry body bevh expects 3.8% growth in 2026. Marketplaces took 56% of sales, and Chinese platforms grew 27.2%.
What sells and where: Fashion is the largest category at 25% of online goods revenue. Amazon.de, Otto and Zalando lead. German shoppers like to pay by invoice, PayPal, mobile wallets, direct debit and cards.
Seller tip: Offer buy-on-invoice, a German-language site and a painless returns process. Online shoppers in Germany have a 14-day right to cancel and return their orders.
7. South Korea
Size and trend: Online shopping hit a record 272.3 trillion won in 2025, up 4.9%, with mobile at 211.1 trillion won. This figure includes services such as food delivery.
What sells and where: Fashion leads online goods at 21% of revenue. Coupang, Naver Shopping and SSG.com dominate, and Naver Pay and Kakao Pay are the most popular wallets. Koreans spent more than $6 billion on overseas online purchases in 2025.
Seller tip: Supplements, premium apparel, cosmetics and baby products sell well cross-border. Build for mobile, provide Korean-language support and remember that buyers need a Personal Customs Clearance Code to import.
8. Russia
Size and trend: Russian online sales grew 28% to 11.5 trillion rubles in 2025, according to the Association of Internet Trade Companies. Cross-border trade made up just 3.8% of purchases.
What sells and where: Wildberries and Ozon are the leading platforms, and hobby and leisure is the largest category at 23% of online goods revenue.
Seller tip: We include Russia for completeness only. Sanctions and payment restrictions make it off-limits or impractical for most international sellers. Visa, for example, suspended all Russian operations in March 2022.
9. France
Size and trend: French shoppers spent €196.4 billion online in 2025, up 7%, including services. Product sales grew 4% to €76.1 billion. Transactions rose 10%, while the average basket fell 3% to €62.
What sells and where: Hobby and leisure is the largest category at 21% of online goods revenue. Amazon, Leboncoin, Vinted, Temu, Shein, Fnac and Cdiscount are among the most-used sites, and 89% of online purchases are paid with bank debit cards.
Seller tip: Localize fully in French and make sure your checkout handles French bank cards smoothly. Shoppers are buying more often but spending less per order, so bundles and free-shipping thresholds help.
10. Brazil
Size and trend: Brazil anchors the world’s fastest-growing region, where retail eCommerce is set to rise 12.2% to $191.25 billion in 2025. Argentina, Brazil and Mexico make up 84.5% of regional sales.
What sells and where: Electronics lead at 32% of online goods revenue. Mercado Livre, Amazon, Shopee and Magazine Luiza are the main marketplaces. Pix instant payments and card installments are essential at checkout, and WhatsApp is central to product discovery.
Seller tip: Localize in Portuguese, offer installments and Pix, and check import taxes on small parcels carefully, because they change often and can erase your margin.
Just outside the top 10
Indonesia ($68.2 billion), Canada ($64.5 billion), Spain ($56.4 billion) and Australia ($49.7 billion) follow closely. Indonesia’s eCommerce GMV is projected to grow more than 14% to $71 billion in 2025, driven by video commerce, but foreign merchants cannot sell goods priced under $100 on local platforms. Australians spent a record A$82.6 billion online in 2025, up 14%.
Closer to home for us, the UAE ($8.1 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($11.4 billion) are far smaller but growing 10–15% a year. We look at the Gulf in more detail in our global eCommerce market overview.
How to choose your next market
- Start where you can deliver well. For most brands selling to the US, the UK is the natural next step: same language, card-led payments and high online spending.
- Model landed cost first. Duties, VAT and shipping now apply to parcels that used to travel duty-free. Check whether local stock or a marketplace fulfillment program makes more sense.
- Match local payments. A market is only open to you if shoppers can pay the way they prefer. Our guide to payment gateways explains the options.
- Test before you commit. Run a small marketplace or paid social test in the new market before localizing your whole store.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the largest eCommerce market in the world?
China. ECDB estimates Chinese online sales of physical goods at $2.04 trillion in 2025, almost double the US.
Is the US or China the better market for international sellers?
For most Western brands, the US. It is open to cross-border sellers, runs on familiar platforms such as Shopify, Amazon, Meta and Google, and is still growing. China usually requires dedicated cross-border channels, local-language content and local partners.
Which large eCommerce markets are growing fastest?
India and Latin America stand out. Latin America is growing about 1.5 times faster than the global average, and Southeast Asia’s eCommerce GMV is projected at $185 billion in 2025.
Why do eCommerce market size figures differ between sources?
Sources use different definitions. Some count only physical goods, others add travel, food delivery or digital services, and some measure gross merchandise value rather than retail sales. Always compare figures from the same source.
Choosing where to sell next is as much about execution as market size. WIMS Global helps brands build and localize Shopify stores and launch in new markets with Facebook and Instagram ads and Google Ads. If you are weighing up a new market, book a free digital audit and we will review your store’s readiness.