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Consumers were from 18 countries, namely Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, the UK, and the US.

The wild economic fluctuations of the pandemic era are receding. Last year reintroduced an air of relative predictability, and the forecast for 2024 and beyond shows smooth sailing. For the next two years, retail sales will grow 4% to 5%, and ecommerce more than 8%.

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Retail ecommerce has entered a new era of slow and steady growth in most countries. This status quo replaces the previous era of spectacular growth and jarring declines.

A spate of recent trade agreements with major partners like the EU and Japan could also help ease anxieties over rising prices and economic instability. But consumers have yet to feel the full force of tariffs.

Retailers turn to genAI to help with product listings: Puma, Walmart, and Amazon are among the companies that see the tech as an opportunity to deliver a more personalized, relevant experience to shoppers while improving productivity.

The trend: More retailers are opening hospitality concepts as they look for new ways to lure shoppers. Muji opened its first US caf茅 inside its Chelsea Market store in New York City, serving specialty drinks like matcha strawberry lattes alongside Japanese comfort foods. Coach鈥檚 caf茅 concept made its stateside debut in December in New Jersey, with another opening in Austin this month.

The pandemic ecommerce boom that drove online sales is over. But marketplaces will continue to expand their share of US retail ecommerce, contributing almost 40% of the $588 billion in US online sales growth that we forecast over the next five years.

Nintendo delayed its US Switch 2 preorders, saying it鈥檚 evaluating the effect of 24% tariffs on Japanese imports, signaling a potential price increase for the console. Tech giants must diversify: Focusing on businesses that they can control rather than those undergoing trade turmoil could help offset mounting losses.

International banks like Japan-based Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company and UAE-based Liv have signed up so far. It scored its first US rollout with the Affirm Card in November. VFC and Mastercard One Credential also share a partner: Marqeta became the first issuer processor to offer VFC thanks to a July tie-up.

Over the past few years, Walmart has opened its marketplace to international merchants from China, Canada, Japan, and the UK, according to our US Retail Ecommerce Marketplaces Forecast 2023 report. Now, the marketplace offers around 400 million SKUs from marketplace sellers, up from 75 million pre-pandemic, per our report.

The 18 countries surveyed were: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the UK, and the US.

Meanwhile, 7-Eleven is giving its US food selection a Japanese-style spin to differentiate its offering and entice consumers. Our take: Couche-Tard has long relied on acquisitions to grow, but Seven & i may be the one that gets away.

Canada ranked No. 2 globally in cross-border retail ecommerce buyer penetration, according to our December 2024 forecasts. More than half (56.1%) of digital buyers were forecast to make transactions outside of the country (mostly the US) in 2025. But tariffs on US consumer goods and services will reduce demand significantly.

Ecommerce sales have returned to modest growth in Western Europe as the economic outlook brightens and more people embrace the convenience of shopping via mobile phone.