E-commerce in numbers 2026: 73.56% of people shop online, but only 1 in 4 companies sells that way
Online shopping reached 73.56% of people in the European Union in 2025, while only 23.59% of companies sell online. We analyze Eurostat data on consumers, companies and sales channels.
By Paulina · SEO and digital strategy specialist
· 3 min read
73.56% of people aged 16 to 74 in the European Union bought something online in the last 12 months, according to 2025 data from Eurostat. In 2020 the figure was 64.74%. Companies are moving more slowly: only 23.59% of those with 10 or more employees sold online, according to Eurostat's enterprise survey.
E-commerce includes sales made through websites, apps, marketplaces or electronic data interchange between companies. In this study we compare how much people buy, how many companies sell and through which channels.
73.56%
People who bought online
last 12 months, EU, 2025
23.59%
Companies selling online
with 10 or more employees, 2025
19.49%
E-commerce sales
of companies' total turnover
9.31%
Companies selling on marketplaces
2.97% sell only that way
Source: Eurostat, isoc_ec_ib20, isoc_ec_esels and tin00110 (2025)
View the data as a table
| People who bought online | 73.56% | last 12 months, EU, 2025 |
| Companies selling online | 23.59% | with 10 or more employees, 2025 |
| E-commerce sales | 19.49% | of companies' total turnover |
| Companies selling on marketplaces | 9.31% | 2.97% sell only that way |
Methodology
We used three Eurostat series: the survey on ICT usage in households (online purchases by people aged 16 to 74), the survey on ICT usage in enterprises (companies with 10 or more employees, excluding the financial sector) and the indicator for e-commerce's share of turnover. Company figures are for 2021, 2023 and 2025. Differences and changes were calculated by InfoByData.
Finding 1: shopping online is now the norm
Online purchases grew every year since 2020, adding almost nine percentage points in five years.
Source: Eurostat, isoc_ec_ib20
View the data as a table
| 2020 | 64.74% |
| 2021 | 67.11% |
| 2022 | 67.95% |
| 2023 | 69.6% |
| 2024 | 71.76% |
| 2025 | 73.56% |
Finding 2: companies sell online far less than their customers buy
While three in four people shop online, only one in four companies sells that way. The gap is widest among small businesses, and progress since 2021 has been slow at every size:
- 2021
- 2025
Source: Eurostat, isoc_ec_esels
View the data as a table
| 2021 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Small (10 to 49) | 20.44% | 21.38% |
| Medium (50 to 249) | 29.25% | 31.67% |
| Large (250 or more) | 44.41% | 48.48% |
| Total | 22.34% | 23.59% |
Over the last four years, the share of companies selling online rose by just 1.25 points. E-commerce accounted for 19.49% of companies' total turnover in 2025, according to Eurostat.
Finding 3: the company's own site is still the main channel
Among companies that sell online, their own website or app is the most used channel. Marketplaces, such as Amazon or Mercado Libre, are the second route.
A company can use several channels, so the percentages don't add up.
How it connects with the rest of digital marketing
- Attract: for a company's own site to sell, it first has to be found and load quickly. Only 48% of mobile sites pass Core Web Vitals, as we show in technical SEO in numbers.
- Measure: 42.8% of websites don't use any analytics tool, according to our web analytics study. Without measurement it's impossible to know which channel sells.
- Convert and retain: conversion rate, acquisition cost and customer lifetime value are the indicators we explain in marketing KPIs.
- Decide with data: 17.62% of European companies analyze their customer data, according to our 2026 data-driven study.
Limitations of the study
- The data covers the European Union. We didn't find an equivalent official measurement for Chile or Latin America using the same methodology; the figures are a reference.
- Companies with fewer than 10 employees aren't included in the enterprise survey, so micro-businesses don't appear in these results.
- People's purchases are measured as "at least once in 12 months", not by frequency or amount spent.
What it means for you
- Your customers already shop online: almost three in four people do. If you don't sell online, you're competing at a disadvantage.
- Selling online still sets you apart: only 21.38% of small companies do it. It's a gap that favors whoever closes it first.
- Start with one channel and measure it: a company's own site is the most used channel and marketplaces are an entry point. Whatever the channel, measure results from day one.
Sources
- Eurostat: "Internet purchases by individuals (2020 onwards)" (isoc_ec_ib20)
- Eurostat: "E-commerce sales of enterprises by size class of enterprise" (isoc_ec_esels)
- Eurostat: "Share of enterprises' turnover on e-commerce" (tin00110)
- Eurostat: "Data analytics by size class of enterprise" (isoc_eb_das)
- e-commerce
- online sales
- online shopping
- marketplaces
- digital marketing