Restrictions due to Covid led to an e-commerce boom in 2020, whose share of total world sales rose from 16 to 19%, with some countries seeing increases in the amount of online sales of more than 20%. .
The estimate is from Unctad, the UN agency for trade and development, according to which the first two places in specialized companies are Alibaba, the Chinese giant, and very detached Amazon, while those specialized in sectors such as travel have seen a sharp contraction in turnover.
The report analyzed data for 2020 from seven countries, the USA, Canada, China, South Korea, Great Britain, Australia and Singapore, which alone account for two thirds of world online sales. The biggest increase is that seen in Australia, with 59%, followed by 46.7% in Great Britain, 32.6% in the USA and 14.6% in China, a country where however the share of e-commerce it was already very high and above 50%. in the same areas, on the other hand, the total share of online and 'live' sales fell by 1%. "These numbers show the growing importance of online activities - explain the authors -, and underline the need for countries, especially developing countries, to rebuild after the pandemic".
From the point of view of individual companies, the report reads, Covid has led to different consequences depending on the sector. Contrary to those that deal with mail-order sales, the platforms specializing in transport and travel have seen a meltdown, with for example Expedia falling from fifth to eleventh place in the world rankings and Booking from sixth to twelfth.
