E-commerce is the fastest-growing global retail channel through 2022: report

Internet retailing is the fastest growing global channel through 2022 at 73% to become a larger channel than traditional grocery retail, according to global market research company Euromonitor International which released its new retailing industry data alongside the second annual What’s New in Retail: Emerging Global Concepts report.

Within internet retailing, the food and drink category is expected to see the fastest growth at 80%.

“While store-based modern and traditional grocery retailing combined will remain larger, internet retailing is changing the traditional way of shopping for many products, but especially for groceries,” said Michelle Grant, head of retailing at Euromonitor International.

“It’s no surprise that now three of the top five largest retailers in the world are internet retailers,” continued Grant. “JD.com entered the top five in 2017, making it the third e-commerce player in the top five joining Amazon and Alibaba.”

With mobile internet retailing expected to reach 50% of total e-commerce sales in 2019, retailers are looking at the next wave of technology to create new ways for consumers to shop.

Tao Café, a pop-up convenience store from Alibaba, ranked first place in the grocery channel, paving the way for cashier-free stores in China. Using facial recognition among other advanced technologies, customers need only their smartphone equipped with Alibaba’s Taobao app to enter and checkout.

This report highlights the evolution and reinvention of international retail, ranking the top-three new retail concepts across grocery, non-grocery, non-store and digital channels.