E-commerce is set to account for 24 per cent of card spending by 2023, according to new research from RBR.

The payments and cards consultancy forecasted that e-commerce expenditure will increase to $11 trillion in 2023, more than double the $4.5 trillion in 2017, up 13 per cent since 2016. In 2017, 18 per cent of card expenditure was down to e-commerce.

RBR’s research highlighted the factors which are driving growth in e-commerce, many of which vary between countries. In the UK, retailer campaigns such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday have caused a migration away from the High Street.

The arrival of companies dependent on digital payments like Uber in several markets has also boosted the e-commerce industry, as have streaming services such as iTunes and Netflix.

As these services typically attract lower purchase prices than larger items such as electronics and white goods, the growing influence of these companies means that e-commerce is being used for less expensive purchases than in the past.

Daniel Dawson, who led RBR’s research project, said: “As consumers increasingly migrate from physical outlets to digital channels, smartphone ownership rises further and mobile payment apps become more and more sophisticated, e-commerce will see significant further growth.”

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