The progress of digital shopping is very different in the two largest global markets for e-commerce, with one app developer reporting China being far more online-buying oriented than the United States.
According to app developer Mobiloud, China is the top e-commerce market with $3.45 trillion in sales, exceeding those in the United States at $1.38 trillion. The third largest market for online revenue is the United Kingdom, with $195 billion in sales.
Another telling difference in scale between the U.S. and China is retail market penetration, which has reached 47% in China versus 15.8% in the U.S., Mobiloud noted. The U.K. also surpassed the U.S. in terms of online retail penetration at 30.6%.
China represented almost half of digital retail sales in 2025, according to Mobiloud. What sets China apart from the U.S. is the degree of integration in the virtual marketplace, the app developer noted. Social commerce, livestream shopping and super-apps in China have helped blur the lines between entertainment and shopping in ways Western markets are only beginning to embrace, Mobiloud added.
The U.S. also comes in behind China when it comes to e-commerce shoppers using mobile phones to purchase, although the gap is smaller at 76% to 92%.
The numbers suggest e-commerce in the United States has significant room to grow. U.S. digital sales gained about 10.5% in 2025, Mobiloud pointed out, the 10th fastest among nations and ahead of China’s increase. The Philippines, India and Indonesia have the fastest growth rates at 24.1%, 22% and 20%, respectively. India, the largest of the three markets in revenue terms at $136 billion, is still only seventh on the top 10 e-commerce sales nations list.
