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E-commerce spending hits $1 trillion for first time

Worldwide sales reached the milestone in 2012. New data from eMarketer estimates that e-commerce sales will grow to $1.3 trillion this year.

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Don Reisinger
Former CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
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Don Reisinger
eMarketer

For the first time ever, worldwide e-commerce sales exceeded $1 trillion, according to new data from research firm eMarketer.

The first $1 trillion mark was reached in 2012, with sales up 21.1 percent from the previous year, according to eMarketer. The company said that it expects e-commerce sales to grow this year by 18.3 percent to end 2013 at $1.3 trillion in worldwide sales.

In addition, the company expects North America to lose its position as the leading e-commerce market to the Asia-Pacific region. Last year, Asia-Pacific's share of total e-commerce spending was 30.5 percent, just behind North America's 33.5 percent share. This year, Asia-Pacific will nab 33.4 percent of spending, followed by 31.5 percent for North America, eMarketer estimates.

Despite that, the U.S. is still the biggest e-commerce market in the world. In 2012, Americans spent $343.4 billion on digitally purchased goods. This year, eMarketer estimates that number will jump to $384.8 billion, while China is expected to land in second place with $181.6 billion in spending.