Web-influenced offline retail sales set to soar in Asia-Pacific

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Aug 9, 2016

The digital shopping revolution has led not only to billions of digital transactions, but also drives significant shares of offline commerce, according to a report by Forrester Research.

The research group predicts web-influenced offline sales in Asia-Pacific (APAC) will grow even faster than purely digital sales as a share of the overall marketplace. By 2020, nearly 30% of retail sales in Asia-Pacific will be made offline, but inspired by online activity, said the firm. 

In 2015, 13% of retail sales were digital, but one in five were offline, web-influenced sales. By 2020, about 20% of sales will be digital, compared to a 30% share for offline web-influenced sales, the authors noted.

While more purchases are being driven by online connections and the popularity of browsing on the internet, brick-and-mortar stores are gaining importance in the final stages of a sale, they said.

In addition to an increase in market share for web-influenced offline sales, revenue is also projected to grow. Forrester Research reported that revenues came to $1.2 trillion in Asia-Pacific in 2015, a figure that is set to rise to $2.1 trillion in 2020. 

According market research firm eMarketer, e-commerce sales in 2016 currently make up 12.1% of total retail sales in Asia-Pacific region, compared to just above 8% in Western Europe and North America.

China holds the largest share of the market in APAC, where 18.4% of retail sales this year have come via digital channels. South Korea sit in second place for market share, followed by New Zealand.