Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Closing the Gap

Hard Numbers: Global packaging boom, livestreamed peaches, the art of 1s and 0s, e-commerce’s share of the pie

Chinese workers load a van with parcels, most of which are from online shopping, at a distribution center in Shanghai.

Chinese workers load a van with parcels, most of which are from online shopping, at a distribution center in Shanghai.

Reuters

63.6: All those e-commerce goods have to be shipped in something, right? The global market for envelopes, tubes, mailers, and other protective packaging is projected to hit $63.6 billion this year, nearly double where it stood in 2019.


70: A peach farmer in Beijing’s farm-rich Pinggu district was able to sell 70kg (155 pounds) of the fruits every day during this year’s harvest season, thanks to livestreaming her work and selling online. Back in 2017, the local government launched a massive initiative to bring local farmers onto e-commerce platforms.

20: Online sales in 2021 accounted for 20% of the global $65 billion art market. That’s twice the share of 2019, before the pandemic gave a boost to e-commerce in art.

14.5: E-commerce accounted for 14.5% of all retail sales in the US in the second quarter of this year, according to the US Fed. That’s up 3 points since the eve of the pandemic and is a full 10 times higher than it was two decades ago.

More For You

How digitization is accelerating international trade
Digital Cross-Border Trade Post-COVID:Paperless, Logistics Tech | Economic Empowerment | GZERO Media
How did the pandemic facilitate cross-border trade?It certainly helped move things along more efficiently in two ways, Nextrade Group founder and CEO Kati Suominen says during a livestream conversation on closing the global digital gap hosted by GZERO in partnership with Visa.First, customs agencies in many countries (finally!) went paperless — a [...]
The weaknesses of a digital economy
No Silver Bullet on Closing the Digital Access Gap | Economic Empowerment | GZERO Media
Is there any downside to going cashless?Not really, but there are challenges, Usman Ahmed, head of Global Public Affairs and Strategic Research at PayPal, says during a livestream conversation on closing the global digital gap hosted by GZERO in partnership with Visa.On the one hand, digitizing payment allows the creation of other financial [...]
The debilitating cost of remittances
The Debilitating Cost of Remittances | Economic Empowerment | GZERO Media
Dilip Ratha knows how hard it is to work abroad and send money home. Why? Because he had to go through the same hoops when he was a migrant.It's the inconvenience and the cost, the World Bank's head of KNOMAD and lead economist says during a livestream conversation on closing the global digital gap hosted by GZERO in partnership with Visa.Still, [...]
Political unrest when governments fail struggling citizens
Political Unrest When Governments Fail Struggling Citizens | Economic Empowerment | GZERO Media
What happens when 1.4 billion people are cut off from the global economy because they don't have a bank account at a time of mounting crises? "The geopolitical ramifications are potentially huge," Ali Wyne, senior analyst for Global Macro-Geopolitics at Eurasia Group, says during a livestream conversation on closing the global digital gap hosted [...]