Who Will Win the Retail Battle Between Brick-and-Mortar and E-Commerce?

“Post-lockdown, many consumers have chosen to return to shopping in person, but will the convenience of e-commerce win out in the long run?”

A United States survey by Mastercard SpendingPulse found that in-store sales rose by 12% in 2022 – but e-commerce sales rose by 14%.

In fact, online spending on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, exceeded Adobe Analytics’ expectations by 2.3%.

However, while e-commerce is thriving, brick-and-mortar stores should not be counted out just yet. Commerce platform Shopify reported that sales made through its point-of-sale system – responsible for in-person, offline sales – rose by 25% in 2022.

But e-commerce is not just gaining ground in the United States. In Europe, the proportion of people shopping online grew from 55% in 2012 to 75% in 2022, an increase of 20 percentage points (Eurostat).

“For now, it remains to be seen whether e-commerce will become the dominant form of shopping or whether brick-and-mortar locations will continue to hold their own.”