5 Surprising Places Where Ecommerce Is Taking Off

What characterizes a market that's primed for ecommerce growth? It's not a country's population size, income per capita, nor even the amount its residents are spending on retail goods every year — though those all play a role. Rather, a complex variety of factors signal immediate to near-term ecommerce opportunity in a given region, a new study from Forrester Research shows.

Take South Korea for example, which ranked fourth on Forrester's list of countries positioned for ecommerce expansion. Compared to others on the list, it has a fairly average income per capita of $22,000. But its consumers are ready to spend: It ranked third on the number of debit/credit cards per capita, fourth in market activity and intensity (stock values relative to GDP), and has a tech-savvy population. Government support is another positive indicator: The country has been regulating the growth of discount megastores, banning for example free shuttle services to shoppers in remote areas, which opens the way for smaller ecommerce businesses. Read more...