Which Product Categories Are Growing The Fastest in Global eCommerce?

Fastest-Growing eCommerce Product Categories in 2024: Key Insights

• Household Care and Grocery on Top: With annual growth rates of 19.3% and 16.6%, respectively, household care and groceries are the 2024 growth champions in eCommerce. The remaining categories in the top 5 are bullion (11.8%), apparel (11.5%), and pet supplies (10.8%)

• Companies Driving Growth Trends: Shein, the fast-growing online company, is one of the accelerators of growth in household care, apparel, and pet supplies. In groceries, generalist retailers are the main players in the market.

• Market Outlook: All of the top 5 categories are projected to grow steadily through 2028, some of them starting at a higher level (apparel) than others (bullion).

Lasting prosperity in any business, not just eCommerce, depends on continued growth and the strategies that support it. For a company that sells and/or distributes products online, it is useful to know which categories are on the rise in the economy – and what the market outlook is for the coming years. 

So, which categories grew highest in 2023? Learn about their market development, dominant companies, and biggest growth markets for each category.

eCommerce Product Categories That Grew the Most

Here are the eCommerce categories for which ECDB recorded the highest yearly growth rates in 2023:

• Household care, which includes cleaning equipment, detergents, and miscellaneous household care products, had the highest growth rate in 2023. Since 2022, global eCommerce revenues of household care products grew by 19.3%. 

• Grocery, including food and beverages, grew by 16.6% year-over-year in 2023.  

• In third place is bullion & precious metals, with yearly growth of 11.8%. 

• Global revenues of apparel, the subcategory of fashion, increased by 11.5%. 

• Fifth on the list is pet supplies, with annual revenue growth of 10.8% in the global eCommerce market.

Here is how this ranking came about.

1. Household Care (19.3%)

Wouldn't it be nice to skip the weekly trip to the local drugstore or supermarket to stock up on trash bags, only to have to go back because you forgot to buy sponges? Well, for a growing number of consumers, this hassle is a thing of the past, as many consumers are now ordering their household care items online. What's more, the prices are usually more competitive because you can compare offers from different providers.

• The household care eCommerce market is projected to reach US$52.5 billion by 2024, with a CAGR of 18.8% until 2028.

• Household care products encompass the categories of cleaning equipment (mops, brooms, dustpans, cleaning cloths, sponges, garbage bags, and more) and detergents (dishwashing soaps and tablets, multi-surface cleaners and laundry detergents). 

Household care growth is primarily driven by the subcategory cleaning equipment, which accounts for 41.7% of market revenues and is expected to grow by 20.8% annually until 2028. The online share of household care products overall is set to increase significantly from 16.7% in 2023 to 29.5% in 2028. 

Here is the past and projected eCommerce revenue development for the global household care market:

• Note the steady growth of online revenues in the global market for household care products: A notable jump first occurred in 2019 to 2020, when revenues increased by 48.8% YoY. 

• While revenues grew consistently in the years after, ECDB projections expect growth to accelerate in 2025.

Leading players for household care eCommerce include Shein, which saw a 39.6% growth in 2023 and generated over US$1 billion in household care, along with Tmall and Amazon. Around 70% of revenues come from third-party marketplaces like Pinduoduo and Kwai Shop, which are known for their popular social and live commerce features. 

The biggest growth markets for household care are China, Bangladesh, Mexico, and Indonesia, with high online shopping rates in Latin American countries like Paraguay, Bolivia, and Nicaragua.

2. Grocery (16.6%)

Grocery is on the rise. While buying groceries via eCommerce was rather unusual before the pandemic, it has now become the new normal. Not only that, but it is expected to become much more prevalent in the future, as a growing number of providers enter the market. With a rising number of players who compete for the top spots in the market comes increasing convenience and better offers at better prices.

• Right now, grocery is the second fastest growing eCommerce category. The grocery market is forecast to generate US$505.8 billion in online revenues by 2024, with a CAGR of 13.8% until 2028. 

• The grocery category consists of food (fresh food, frozen food, cupboard products, bakery, and more) and beverages (juices, water, coffee, alcoholic beverages).

• Food is growing slightly faster than beverages. The online share of grocery overall is expected to nearly double, from a 4.7% share in 2023 to 8.3% in 2028. 

Check out the past and projected trajectory of eCommerce revenues in the global grocery market:

• Grocery eCommerce leapt from US$200.3 billion in online net sales in 2019 by 41.6% to US$283.6 billion in 2020. 

• Steady growth is forecast for the following years, leading to US$847.6 billion in eCommerce revenues by 2028. This figure is equivalent to the current GDP of a developed economy like Poland.

Growth in global grocery eCommerce is being driven by large supermarkets and generalists that are expanding their online presence, such as Tmall, Amazon, Walmart, Safeway, and Kroger, alongside other providers like Freshippo.com, Yhd.com, and Ocado.com. 

The largest growth is seen in Asian markets like Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey, and Iran, as well as smaller African markets such as Niger, Madagascar, and Mozambique.

3. Bullion & Precious Metals (11.8%)

During the pandemic, investing in bullion was a widespread trend. Consumers were looking for a reliable way to store their wealth, and gold and other precious metals offered a convenient solution. This was in no small part due to specialized online stores that offered consumers a good deal to participate in the precious metals trade. Evidently, this trend has continued to the present day, and is expected to grow further:

• The eCommerce market for bullion is expected to generate revenues of US$27 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 14.5% until 2028.

• The scope of bullion & precious metals includes bars and coins made of gold, silver, platinum or palladium, as well as storage solutions. 

Here at ECDB, bullion & precious metals is a subcategory of hobby & leisure. It excludes jewelry and watches (which are in the fashion category) and precious metal investment services. Bullion & precious metals has a higher online share than other hobby & leisure subcategories, with 10.2% in 2023. By 2028, 14% of all revenue in this category is expected to be generated online.

• A surge occurred in 2020, when online revenues grew by 58% YoY. Growth continued in the subsequent years, but at a more moderate pace. 

• Another jump is expected to occur in 2024, with eCommerce revenues increasing by 15.2% annually. At a steady pace, they are set to reach US$47 billion by 2028.

The market is mostly covered by specialists, with U.S. and German stores leading the way. Bullion trading on marketplaces is limited; for instance, it accounts for only 2% of eBay‘s GMV, which translates into US$1.4 billion. 

Despite declines in 2023, growth is highest in Poland, Singapore and Italy. Other regions with significant online activity for this category are South Korea, the U.S., the UK, and the UAE. Above-average growth can be found in Austria, Iran, and India.

4. Apparel (11.5%)

Apparel, the largest sub-category of fashion, is what makes eCommerce go 'round. You yourself have probably ordered a piece of clothing online at least once, and so have I (definitely more than once). We are not alone:

• The apparel eCommerce market is expected to reach US$726.3 billion in revenues by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 10.8% until 2028.

• Apparel is a subcategory of fashion and includes outerwear, tops, bottoms, and other clothing items. Pants make up nearly 25% of all revenues of apparel, followed by T-shirts/shirts/blouses (19.7%) and dresses/skirts (18.8%). 

Despite a high online share of 34.8% for apparel in 2024, this percentage is expected to reach 48.2% by 2028. This high growth is driven by higher-priced fashion items like jackets/coats/anoraks, pants and sweaters.

• As expected, revenues increased considerably during the pandemic, at a rate of 28.2% in 2020. 

• The global apparel eCommerce market experienced consistent growth in the following years, which is expected to continue well throughout the decade. 

• By 2027, market revenues are forecast to exceed US$1 trillion for the first time, resulting in US$1.1 trillion by 2028.

Traditional apparel stores like gap.com and asos.com are seeing a decline in revenues, while Shein emerges as the growth champion. The pure-play online store generated US$7.7 billion in 2023 with a nearly 40% growth. Asian marketplaces dominate the apparel sector compared to Western ones. Players like Pinduoduo and Kwai show particularly high growth, which can be attributed to their social commerce features. 

The Chinese market continues to grow faster than the global average, with notable growth rates in Norway, Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, and Lebanon.

5. Pet Supplies (10.8%)

Pet supplies is a convenient category for eCommerce, as it provides an easy way for online shoppers to browse for treats and essentials that meet their pet’s needs. Want to reward your pooch for being a good boy? Find him a pet bed with a fun motif online. And while you're at it, if the cat has torn up his feather toy again, you might want to get a new one.

• The online pet supplies market is expected to reach US$72 billion in 2024 and grow at a CAGR of 11% until 2028. 

• Pet supplies is a subcategory of hobby & leisure and includes products like pet food and treats, pet toys, crates and carriers, collars and leashes, grooming supplies, and more.

Cat and dog supplies account for over 70% of online revenues. Overall, the online share is fairly small at 6.4%, and is expected to grow to reach 8% by 2028.

• As to be expected, the most notable growth occurs in 2020, with a 4 year-over-year rate of 43.7%.   

• After the pandemic, rates slowed, but were still positive, with revenues reaching US$63.7 billion in 2023. 

• Forecasts for the following years show steady growth. By 2028, online market revenues for pet supplies stand at a projection of US$109.2 billion.

The market is dominated by U.S. and European specialist retailers like Zooplus, Chewy, and PetSmart, along with Walmart and Shein, which makes over US$1 billion with pet supplies. 

Small markets such as Mongolia, Niger, and Mozambique are growing the fastest, while Poland, Serbia, France, and Australia have the highest online shares.

Summary: Which Product Categories Are Growing The Fastest in Global eCommerce?

The growth champions in eCommerce reflect shifting consumer demand since the pandemic: While eCommerce for household care and grocery facilitates everyday life for consumers, bullion & precious metals pose a smart investment opportunity. Apparel is an all-time favorite for online shoppers and pet supplies allow consumers to find a greater variety of products for their pets. 

The reason for the high prevalence of everyday utilities among the eCommerce growth champions is clear: For more and more consumers, online shopping has become the convenient, low-cost alternative to brick-and-mortar purchases. Retailers have grasped this fact and are offering increasing perks to online shoppers, including free delivery on weekly grocery orders over a certain threshold.

Clearly, this is just the beginning. The rise of low-cost platforms like Shein, Temu, AliExpress and TikTok Shop is adding fuel to the fire of the race to be the most convenient provider.