In the global retail industry, macroeconomic concerns continue to weigh on consumers, placing a heavy burden on retailers specialising in sales of discretionary goods. Even so, thanks to the skyrocketing popularity of online shopping and the growing affluence of consumers in the Asia Pacific region, global retail sales recorded positive, albeit subdued, growth in 2024. Future growth will be largely dependent on the continued expansion of e-commerce and the remarkable rise of the Asia Pacific retail sector.
Global retail sales record subdued but positive growth in 2024
While inflation continued to ease in 2024 on a global basis, rates of inflation remained stubbornly high by recent historical standards in many countries. As a result, cost-of-living concerns forced many consumers to continue to ration their retail spending. Due largely to the continued buoyancy of the retail sector across Asia Pacific, however, global retail sales growth remained positive in 2024.
Global retail sales recorded year-on-year growth of 1% in constant terms (ie after stripping out the effects of inflation) when measured in dollar terms
Source: Euromonitor International Passport: Retail, 2025 edition
E-commerce powers global retail sales gains in 2024
In terms of retail channel performance, e-commerce was the clear standout on a global basis in 2024, recording impressive year-on-year sales growth of 7% in constant terms. With consumers spending more time online every year, more shopping is taking place online as well – and not just through e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon, but increasingly through other platforms, such as social media sites like TikTok and Douyin, both of which are owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Inc.
The impressive growth of e-commerce in 2024 stands in stark contrast to the negative performance of offline retail. Indeed, only one component of offline retail, grocery retailers, could boast even marginally positive growth in 2024. The relative strength of grocery retailers was due mainly to the success of discount-orientated store-based grocery channels that prioritise low prices, especially warehouse clubs and discounters.
The global retail sector’s centre of gravity continues to shift towards Asia Pacific
In 2024, retail sales in the developed regions of North America, Western Europe and Australasia declined in constant terms, as macroeconomic and political uncertainty continued to rattle consumer confidence in these geographies. As a result, Asia Pacific remained the beating heart of global retail, with sales in the region posting year-on-year growth of 3%, in constant terms, over the course of the year – a higher rate of growth than any other region. Thanks to a rising middle class, rapid urbanisation and a striking increase in connectivity in recent years, Asia Pacific consumers are becoming more affluent, powering the economy of the region even as much of the rest of the world struggles with inflation and economic malaise. Demographic and economic shifts have also helped shape Asia Pacific into the world’s laboratory of retail innovation, particularly in terms of e-commerce and mobile e-commerce.
2025 will mark a watershed moment for retail e-commerce
Looking ahead, retail sales are expected to increase at a CAGR of 2% from 2024 to 2029. With consumers continuing to shift spending to digital channels, online sales are expected to account for a whopping 74% of the projected sales growth over this span. As a result, e-commerce penetration, which grew to 22% of total retail sales in 2024, is projected to increase to 28% by 2029.
Unsurprisingly, Asia Pacific is also expected to remain the hotbed of e-commerce and mobile e-commerce innovation for the foreseeable future. In fact, in 2025, Euromonitor International projects that South Korea will become the first country in human history in which the majority of retail sales, by value, are transacted online. As a result, South Korea will offer a peek into the future of retail for the rest of the world.
Read our recent briefings, The World Market for Retail and Top Five Trends in Retail, for more insights into the dynamics that are reshaping the global retail landscape in 2025 and beyond.