2Checkout Announces 2021 Digital Commerce Benchmark for Digital Goods

2Checkout (now Verifone), the leading all-in-one monetization platform for global businesses, released its 2021 Benchmark Report on Digital Commerce Trends in global online sales of software, SaaS, digital goods, and online services. The benchmark is based on transactions moving through 2Checkout’s digital commerce platform during the 2020 pandemic year. 2Checkout continuously tracks trends and statistics, empowering merchants to make better business decisions.

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Key Findings:

• The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly impacted online sales of digital goods, with considerable increases across countries and product categories
• Average order value across all merchants selling digital goods reached an all-time high, at $65, up $9 over 2019
• Security software continued to top the charts for the most popular category
• Subscriptions purchases expanded, claiming 79% of total online sales of digital goods and services, a 2% increase over 2019
• Payment method preferences Visa and Mastercard continued to lead at the global level, with local options gaining traction in several markets

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Key trends from the report include:

• Increases among top countries – The 2Checkout top 10 countries by sales volume were identical to 2019, although in a slightly different order. United States maintained its lead in online sales of software, SaaS, and online services, with 46% of sales worldwide, followed by the UK, with Germany claiming the third position instead of France last year.
  All top countries recorded accelerated digital sales in 2020, driven by the COVID lockdowns and a shift among consumers towards digital commerce. The highest year-over-year growth of online sales of digital goods and services among the top 10 countries was registered by Japan, with a 40% increase, followed by the United Kingdom (34%) and Australia (32%).

  2Checkout’s ten largest markets accounted for 77% of all online sales in 2020, comparable to their standing in 2019. The top ten non-English-speaking countries accounted for 21% of global software sales, only a 1% increase from 2019.

• The average order value in 2020 was $65, a $9 increase versus 2019 and likely generated by the transition to online brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Orders placed via mobile also registered an increase, sitting at $51 in 2020, compared to $50 in 2019.
• Subscription sales on the rise – The growth in subscriptions continued further, with 79% of total online sales of software, and digital goods in 2020 coming from subscription-based products and services, compared to 77% in 2019, and 76% in 2018.
• Endpoint security software remains popular – As in every other year, this category was among the most popular online purchases of digital goods in 2020. With online purchases increasing due to the lockdowns in place, so did cyber-fraud and online attacks, leading to an increased interest in security solutions by consumers and businesses alike.
  Multimedia tools, software utilities, marketing, streaming, and financial tools were also popular categories.

• Variations in payment methods – The top 5 payment methods used globally maintained their standings since 2019. Visa and Mastercard still led the pack with 63% of all digital goods orders, followed by PayPal at 21%. Local and regional payment methods continued to hold a solid percentage of sales in several countries such as Alipay in China (47%), iDEAL in the Netherlands (44%), local cards with installments in Brazil (30%), followed by Carte Bancaire in France (holding 27%).
• Additional revenue sources – Several additional revenue sources proved their consistent value during 2020. Affiliate-generated sales continued to show strength for 2Checkout clients, as an additional marketing channel for the software industry. Affiliate marketing generated 24% of revenue for software merchants using the Avangate Affiliate Network in 2020, up 1% since 2019.
  Merchants who employed platform promotional tools generated 36% of 2020 revenue from these efforts, an increase of 3% from last year. November was the month of the year to generate the highest promo sales, which is not surprising given Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions were able to take place undeterred during the pandemic year.

“It comes as no surprise that online sales of digital goods took center stage during the pandemic year, as people worldwide worked and learned remotely. In addition to increased sales, average order values increased significantly,” commented Laurentiu Ghenciu, Global Vice President of Digital Business at Verifone.
“Our benchmark further showed that subscription sales continue to be appreciated by consumers and businesses alike, demonstrating the convenience of the model.

As for payment preferences, Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal’s global advantage aside, local options maintained their strength in many countries, with eWallets, direct debit, and payment in installments preferred by shoppers in various geographies worldwide. We recommend that merchants follow these global trends and adapt their offerings accordingly.”

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