The Future of Ecommerce: Booming, Competitive & Full Of Opportunity

 Author: Sonia Lamb - Founder of Your Ecom Expert

  Author: Sonia Lamb - Founder of Your Ecom Expert

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the ecommerce industry, you’ll know it’s showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, online retail continues to expand at an extraordinary rate, reshaping the way we buy, sell, and connect with customers across the globe.

For founders of ecommerce companies or those considering starting their own, the message is clear: this is a market full of potential, but it’s also fiercely competitive.

The Numbers Speak for Themselves

• Global ecommerce sales reached $6.3 trillion in 2024 and are expected to hit $7.9 trillion by 2027. That’s steady, year-on-year growth with no plateau in sight.
• In the UK alone, online sales account for over 26% of all retail, a figure that has doubled over the last decade.
• Mobile commerce is surging, with forecasts showing that 73% of total ecommerce sales will come from smartphones by 2026.

The takeaway? Customers are increasingly comfortable, and even expect, to shop online. This is more than a trend. It’s the norm.

A Competitive Marketplace

Of course, with massive growth comes competition. Barriers to entry are lower than ever before thanks to platforms like Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce and Amazon Marketplace. But this accessibility also means you’re not the only one with a great idea. Every niche, every product, and every audience is being targeted by someone.

But here’s the good news: there’s still plenty of room for new players. Ecommerce isn’t a finite pie. It’s a continually expanding ecosystem where fresh, strategic brands can carve out their own share.

The Female Founder Gap: Small Numbers, Big Potential

While opportunity in ecommerce is booming for everyone, it’s worth noting that the number of female-founded or female-led businesses remains disproportionately small compared with male-led ones.

• Only around 18-19% of companies in the UK are led by women, leaving more than 80% male-led.
• Women founded just one in five new UK businesses in 2022 - a record number, but still a minority.
• All-female teams secured just 8.2% of UK equity deals in 2023, highlighting the barriers many face in scaling.

These figures show that while women are building and leading more businesses than ever, they’re still underrepresented - especially in ecommerce, where growth opportunities are abundant. This imbalance isn’t just a gender issue, it’s an industry issue: fewer female-founded companies means less diversity of ideas, innovation and leadership.

How Your Ecom Expert Champions Female-Founded Businesses

That’s why at Your Ecom Expert, we’ve built our mission around impact as well as growth.

• Led by deep experience and driven by purpose, we know what it takes to thrive in a fast-moving ecommerce world.

• We transform ecommerce revenue through consulting, online learning, expert coaching and community support.

• We have a dedicated focus on empowering female-founded businesses, while proudly working with all entrepreneurs who share our mission of supporting women in business.

Because when more women succeed, the whole ecommerce ecosystem benefits.

Strategy is Everything

Whether you’re male or female, new to ecommerce or scaling up, there are three golden rules that hold true:

1. Know your “who” - Who exactly are you serving? Understanding your customer inside-out (their challenges, desires, buying behaviour) is the single most important factor in standing out.

2. Be considered in your setup - Don’t chase trends blindly. Build around a long-term vision, refine your product offering, and choose the right technology to scale with you.

3. Consistency builds credibility - Success rarely happens overnight. It’s about showing up, delivering value, and optimising your customer experience every single day.

The Opportunity Ahead

Ecommerce is growing faster than many traditional retail channels combined, and the opportunities will continue multiplying. Yes, it’s competitive. But that competition doesn’t mean there’s no room, it means smarter, more strategic businesses will win.

At Your Ecom Expert, we’re here to make sure more founders - especially women - don’t just start ecommerce businesses, but scale them, lead them, and thrive.

The question isn’t whether the industry will keep growing - it will. The real question is: how will you make sure you grow with it?