Five E-Commerce Markets to Enter in 2024

Post-pandemic, the market is over-saturated and e-commerce demand growth has dipped. If you want to see growth, you have to think outside of the lines —outside of the lines of your homeland, that is.

Where do you go for more customers? There are tons of regions and countries where e-commerce is growing faster than in more mature markets, and these places make fantastic choices for secondary markets to sell to.

However, fast growth is certainly not the only factor to consider when deciding which market(s) to expand into.

There are several factors to consider, namely

• Growth rate of national e-commerce market
• Existing logistics infrastructure
• Current size of market
• Internet penetration rate
• Government and regulatory environment

On top of that, you have to consider what sort of entering you plan on doing. After all, as an e-commerce retailer, you can technically sell to any country. 

However, you may want to consider targeting one market or region through marketing efforts, in-country fulfillment operations, regional e-commerce marketplaces, or even selling your products in a brick-and-mortar location to supplement your e-commerce business.

Here, we’ve picked five of the most promising e-commerce markets to consider entering in 2024, all across the world. 

Read about CBIP's Adaptable 4PL Logistics Services

Five markets to consider for market expansion in 2024

When considering which markets to target for sales, or enter to set up more permanent operations, there are two options to consider: Choose a well-developed but highly competitive market or a less mature market where growth potential is huge and competition is less fierce. 

Neither choice is right or wrong. Really, it depends on your level of experience and your goals for your business. 

1. South Korea

We’re hearing a lot about the fastest-growing e-commerce markets. However, remember that well-developed markets with moderate growth rates still offer ample opportunity for e-commerce retailers. 

One of those markets is South Korea, which is incidentally ranked as one of the top 5 places in the world to do business. 

It’s easy to see why. Infrastructure in South Korea is extensive and well-developed, and high internet penetration of 99.6%. Almost 100% of Koreans between the ages of 10 and 49 have smartphones, and mobile commerce is extremely popular. 

In fact, South Korea is the third largest e-commerce market in Asia-Pacific, plus the tenth richest country in the world, and its upper class loves spending their disposable income on everything from clothing to home appliances.

Despite their mature market status, growth rates have recently been promising. According to their Ministry of Trade, online retail sales in the nation were up 7.8% year-over-year in February 2023.

2. Vietnam

Four years ago, the Vietnamese government laid out a plan to have more than half of the country’s 96 million citizens shopping online by 2025. The estimated percentage of Vietnamese shopping online in 2023 was already  60%. 

Based on 2023 growth rates, Vietnam is the ninth fastest-growing e-commerce market in the world at a 2023 growth rate of 12% YoY. Internet penetration rate has grown from around 70% in 2020 to nearly 80% by the beginning of 2024.

Rising incomes times internet penetration equals e-commerce shopping growth. As the nation's middle class grows and their disposable income rises, so does the national rate of internet penetration — a winning combo for e-commerce retail growth.

Regulatory framework and infrastructure still need improvement, but foreign and government investment has already fostered expensive growth when it comes to infrastructure, logistics, and government regulations.

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3. Mexico

At a growth rate of 16.2%, Mexico has the fastest-growing e-commerce market in Latin America and the 5th fastest in the world.

While the market has been up and coming for years now, e-commerce growth exploded with COVID-19; between 2020 and 2021, domestic e-commerce grew 27%. While problems with online security breaches and online banking are still an issue, the population does not seem too perturbed by that. 

In the past couple of years, Mexicans have been buying more food and beverage products, beauty products, and other home goods online, with an estimated 98% of purchases last year happening through smartphones. 

Internet connectivity rates still have some growing to do, but they’ve shot up tremendously in the past several years. From 56.66% in 2018, internet connectivity in Mexico has grown to a projected 78.91% in 2024, with the trajectory of growth expected to continue to reach 98% by 2029.

On top of all that growth, the nation is a welcome place for foreign business and investment. The Mexican Internet Association estimates that 80% of Mexcian e-commerce shoppers purchased from international businesses in 2022, versus just 50% in the previous year. 

4. Canada

Number nine on the fastest-growing e-commerce market list, Canada also has a well-established market in a highly stable economy. 

Trends in the Canadian market include a marked inclination towards sustainable brands and a steadily increasing rate of mobile shopping. One of the greatest advantages of selling e-commerce products to Canadians is that much of Canada’s e-commerce network is integrated with the United States(not to mention Free Trade Agreements). 

That means that you can do business in both countries with relatively little upstart cost for Canada — all while taking advantage of the lower market concentration in Canada. 

5. The UK

96.7% of the UK is online, compared with the European average of 93.8. Internet access is one of the most important factors influencing the growth of e-commerce. 

In this list, this is one of the most competitive, well-formed e-commerce markets. Even post-Brexit, the UK is very economically stable. 

As the third largest e-commerce market in the world, it is quite a mature market. However, it is constantly evolving, and consumers are very comfortable buying from international sellers, making market expansion easy for many e-commerce retailers. 

The logistics infrastructure is well-established, and storage is secure, meaning that fulfillment and returns are a breeze. Plus, with clear and strong regulations and strong laws protecting consumers, it's easy to do business, and trust in e-commerce is high.

2024 is the year to scale your business globally with CBIP Logistics

The key to e-commerce success in an unfamiliar e-commerce environment?

 Adapt to local needs. What do you do when you can’t fulfill orders due to infrastructure issues, or customers want to pay on delivery instead of using online payments? You need to figure out how the locals do it, not how you would do it at home.

This is where your premier 4PL partner, CBIP Logistics, comes in. At CBIP, we help our DTC clients with all matter of logistics issues, all over the world: whether it be optimizing packaging solutions or finding the best locations for your fulfillment centers, there’s next to nothing we can’t handle when it comes to your logistics.

One of our strongest talents is helping you expand your business abroad: figuring out all the details about what you need to sell and fulfill successfully in a new location. 

The best part? We work with an extensive network of logistics providers across the globe, so we can set you up with any of them based on your unique needs.

Scaling your business takes a good deal of analysis and planning, so let’s get ahead of the game and start chatting about your business goals: Please feel free to give us a call for a free consultation on your current logistics, and where you want your business to go.