Global shoppers are expected to spend 20% more online in 2021 than they did last year, according to an Adobe report released on Tuesday, likely adding pressure to supply chains as they struggle to keep up with a surge in demand.
Major retailers and vendors – from Home Depot (HD.N) to Peloton (PTON.O) – are under pressure from high transportation and storage costs for expensive-to-ship items like appliances, furniture and exercise equipment that are in high demand.
Stores like Walmart (WMT.N), Target (TGT.N) and Amazon.com (AMZN.O) have over the past year also run out of essential products that are easy to buy in bulk with one click, but hard to keep stocked.
Driven by demand in the United States, China and Britain, ecommerce sales will total an estimated $4.2 trillion this year versus $3.5 billion in 2020, according to Adobe, which gathers direct transaction data in over 80 countries. Online sales of items from toys and video games to furniture were $876 billion in the first quarter of this year.
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