1、Measuring the value of E-commerceGeneva,2023 2023,United NationsAll rights reserved worldwide Requests to reproduce excerpts or to photocopy should be addressed to the Copyright Clearance Center at .All other queries on rights and licences,including subsidiary rights,should be addressed to:United Na

2、tions Publications405 East 42 nd Street New York,New York 10017 United States of America Email:publicationsun.org Website:https:/shop.un.org/The designations employed and the presentation of material on any map in this work do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Uni

3、ted Nations concerning the legal status of any country,territory,city or area or of its authorities,or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.This publication has not been formally edited.United Nations publication issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and DevelopmentU

4、NCTAD/DTL/ECDE/2023/3ISBN:978-92-1-113093-5eISBN:978-92-1-002553-9Sales No.E.23.II.D.5iiiMEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCENoteIn accordance with the mandate given to it by member States,UNCTADs E-Commerce and Digital Economy(ECDE)Branch in the UNCTAD Division on Technology and Logistics aims to cont

5、ribute to enhanced inclusive and sustainable development gains from e-commerce and the digital economy for people and businesses in developing countries,particularly least developed countries(LDCs).The ECDE Programme works with government policymakers and development partners,civil society and the p

6、rivate sector to strengthen the readiness of developing countries to harness the opportunities and address the risks presented by digitalization in four main ways,by:Providing better evidence on what policy changes are needed at the national,regional and international level to generate more inclusiv

7、e and sustainable outcomes in the data-driven digital economy,including through the biennial Digital Economy Report;Offering tailored assistance to low-income countries to build their capacities to engage in and benefit from e-commerce and the digital economy(eTrade Readiness Assessments,E-commerce

8、Strategies,E-commerce and Law Reform,Measuring the Digital Economy);Empowering women digital entrepreneurs in developing countries to become more visible as role models and therefore better heard by policy makers to foster change in the business enabling environment(eTrade for Women);Paving the way

9、for more collaborative efforts and effective partnerships to make better use of scarce resources in the area of digital for development and build consensus(eTrade for all,e-commerce Weeks,Intergovernmental Group of Experts).ivvMEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCEPrefaceBY SHAMIKA N.SIRIMANNE DIRECTOR,D

10、IVISION ON TECHNOLOGY AND LOGISTICS/UNCTADProducing statistics on the digital economy and society is an increasingly important component of the work programme of national statistical organizations.The demand for such statistics continuously rises as more countries seek to design,monitor and review n

11、ational policies and strategies to take advantage of information and communications technologies(ICTs).Business communities also require information about access to,and use of,ICTs by various consumer groups,as well as about the impact of ICTs.This is a particular challenge for developing countries,

12、many of which are still at an early stage of measuring various aspects of our increasingly digital economies and societies.At the international level,comparable indicators are critical for cross-country comparisons,monitoring of the digital divide and establishing policy-relevant benchmarks.The Unit

13、ed Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD)is a founding member of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development,which is an international,multi-stakeholder initiative to improve the availability and quality of ICT data and indicators.One of its key achievements is the development of a

14、 core list of ICT indicators for the production of internationally comparable statistics.The latest guidelines on compiling core indicators related to the ICT sector and ICT usage by businesses are set out in the UNCTAD Manual for the Production of Statistics on E-commerce and the Digital Economy 20

15、20.One area in which there is very limited information available concerns the monetary value of e-commerce transactions.Measuring this has become increasingly important,not least as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic during which a shift to making online purchases supported economic resilience.Better

16、 statistics on the value of e-commerce are needed to understand its economic role and contributions to GDP,employment and development,as well as for evidence-based policymaking.Because of this,UNCTAD member States have indicated that developing guidance and support on measuring e-commerce is a key p

17、riority.This report provides a foundation for the next step in efforts to measure e-commerce.Its analysis will serve as a basis for the work of a task group of delegates from interested countries and international organizations with the view of developing statistical guidelines for measuring the val

18、ue of e-commerce sales and purchases.The task group will inform deliberations of the UNCTAD Working Group on Measuring E-commerce and the Digital Economy.viAcknowledgements This report was prepared by Daniel Ker,UNCTAD under the supervision of Pilar Fajarnes-Garces and Torbjrn Fredriksson.UNCTAD gra

19、tefully acknowledges the support and inputs provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics;Statistics Canada;National Bureau of Statistics,China;the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong,China;the Hungarian Central Statistical Office;the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations Offi

20、ce in Geneva;Statistics Poland;Department of Statistics,Singapore;the Republic of Slovenia Statistical Office;and the United Kingdom Office for National Statistics.This report benefited from discussion during the third meeting of the UNCTAD Working Group on Measuring E-commerce and the Digital Econo

21、my in November 2022.Financial support from the Governments of Germany,the Netherlands,Sweden,and Switzerland is gratefully acknowledged.viiMEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCEAcronyms and abbreviationsANZSIC Australia and New Zealand Standard Industrial ClassificationASEAN Association of South-East Asi

22、an NationsASPBI Annual Survey of Philippine Business and IndustryB2B Business-to-Business e-commerceB2C Business-to-Consumer e-commerceB2G Business-to-Government e-commerceC2C Consumer-to-Consumer e-commerceCA$Canadian DollarCOVID-19 2019 novel coronavirusDIP Digital Intermediary PlatformEDI Electro

23、nic Data InterchangeEU European UnionGB British pounds sterlingGDP Gross Domestic ProductGST Goods and Services TaxICT Information and communication technologiesIMF International Monetary FundLDCs Least Developed CountriesMETI Ministry of Economy,Trade,and Industry JapanMSIC Malaysia Standard Indust

24、rial ClassificationNACE Statistical classification of economic activities in the European CommunityNAICS North American Industry Classification SystemNSO National Statistics OfficeOECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentRM Malaysian RinggitSAR Special Autonomous RegionSMEs Small an

25、d Medium EnterprisesUK United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandUN United NationsUNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and DevelopmentUS United States of America US$United States DollarVAT Value-Added TaxWG-ECDE Working Group on measuring E-commerce and the Digital EconomyWTO World Tr

26、ade OrganisationviiiixMEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCEContentsNOTE .IIIPREFACE .VACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .VIACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS .VIISummary 11.Introduction 22.Seeking estimates of the value of e-commerce sales 53.How is e-commerce measured?93.1.Definitions .93.2.Approaches to measuring value .133.3

27、.Breakdowns of total e-commerce value .163.4.Cross-border e-commerce .243.5.Survey types,coverage,and methods .314.Conclusions 39Annex 1.National sources of business e-commerce sales figures .40Annex 2.E-commerce definitional text from business survey questionnaire forms .43Annex 3.Monetary concepts

28、 relevant to measuring the value of business e-commerce transactions in different economies .48Annex 4.Business survey questions related to measuring the value of e-commerce .53Annex 5.UK Digital Economy Survey 2021 full e-commerce sales module .735.References 78xBoxesBox 1.E-commerce value question

29、s in the Malaysian Survey on Usage of ICT and E-commerce by Establishment 2020 .14Box 2.E-commerce value in the European community survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises .16Box 3.Social media and e-commerce .21Box 4.Cross-border e-commerce in the Canadian Survey of Digital Technology and

30、Internet Use 2021 .28Box 5.Cross-border e-commerce in the framework for measuring Digital Trade .29Box 6.Japan“Market research on e-commerce”.37TablesTable 1.Classification of economies by features of e-commerce definitions .12Table 2.Respondent options for categorising e-commerce revenues according

31、 to actors on survey questionnaires in different economies .18Table 3.Respondent options for categorising e-commerce revenues according to sales channels on survey questionnaires in different economies .19xiMEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCEFiguresFigure 1.E-commerce sales,US$billions,current prices,

32、2012-2021 .7Figure 2.Approaches to measuring the value of e-commerce,by economy.15Figure 3.E-commerce breakdowns,by number of implementing economies .17Figure 4.E-commerce sales,domestic and abroad,2021 or latest year available .25Figure 5.E-commerce exports,2015-2021 .26Figure 6.E-commerce exports

33、by businesses,contribution to change in total goods and services exports,selected countries,2015-2021 .27Figure 7.Sources for measuring business e-commerce .32Figure 8.Business coverage of e-commerce value measures .35Box Figure 1.Digital trade and e-commerce:key concepts and definitions .29Box Figu

34、re 2.Reporting template for digital trade(draft).30Box Figure 3.Cross-border e-commerce market size between Japan,the United States and China .37Photo:Unsplash Measuring the value of E-commercexiiixiv1Summary1.“Working group on measuring e-commerce and the digital economy,third meeting”available at

35、https:/unctad.org/meeting/working-group-measuring-e-commerce-and-digital-economy-third-meeting Measuring e-commerce is a prerequisite for understanding its economic role and contribution to GDP,employment,and development,as well as for evidence-based policymaking.Beyond total e-commerce,the distinct

36、ion between domestic and cross-border e-commerce is important to understand to what extent e-commerce contributes to exports and imports.The UNCTAD Secretariat has received various enquiries from countries asking for guidance and support to measure the monetary value of e-commerce and digitally orde

37、red trade.This analysis describes the current situation regarding measures of the value of e-commerce,including cross-border e-commerce,for various economies for which statistics are available.While the sample may not be exhaustive,it is broadly representative to give an overall view of measurement

38、practices.The focus is on business e-commerce which is the main component of e-commerce.There is a considerable variety of statistics available from various economies,but they also exhibit considerable variation in terms of definitions,approaches to e-commerce value,survey questions,data sources,met

39、hods,and scopes underpinning them.Furthermore,this analysis illustrates that,in most economies,there are simply no national statistics on the value of e-commerce.Moreover,so far,primarily statistics on e-commerce sales are available,which implies that cross-border e-commerce statistics mainly refer

40、to exports and rarely to imports.There is a need to take action to support the development of robust,exhaustive,and internationally comparable statistics on the value of e-commerce across countries including both developed and developing countries.A logical next step would be to discuss the advantag

41、es and disadvantages of the different approaches described in this analysis and consider the potential for standard measures.This could then lead to developing appropriate statistical guidelines to measure e-commerce.Such an effort would necessarily rely on the experience and expertise of the econom

42、ies covered in this analysis,and others interested in contributing to guidelines that are relevant and useful for all.Within its mandate“to advance cooperation on measuring e-commerce and the digital economy and enhance the availability,quality,comparability,usability,and relevance of statistics con

43、cerning e-commerce and the digital economy”,the UNCTAD Working Group on Measuring E-commerce and the Digital Economy is particularly well placed to take up this challenge.Accordingly,at its third meeting held on 28-29 November 2022,the Working Group1 resolved to recommend that UNCTAD should continue

44、 working towards developing statistical guidelines on measuring the value of e-commerce(including cross-border e-commerce);and that a task group of interested Working Group participants should be established to guide,oversee,and contribute to the development of the necessary measurement standards an

45、d guidelines.MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE21.Introduction2.Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development available at https:/www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/intlcoop/partnership/default.aspx3.Core list of indicators available at https:/www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/coreindicators/de

46、fault.aspxThe UNCTAD Working Group on Measuring E-commerce and the Digital Economy(WGECDE)is an international forum to advance cooperation on measuring electronic commerce(e-commerce)and the digital economy and enhance the availability,quality,comparability,usability,and relevance of related statist

47、ics,with a view to supporting evidence-based policymaking,especially in developing countries.Since its inception in 2019,the group has had a strong focus on the need to develop statistics and evidence on the economic value of e-commerce(UNCTAD,2019).More broadly,UNCTAD has a mandate to support count

48、ries in measuring e-commerce and the digital economy through developing statistical guidelines and complementary capacity building and technical assistance activities.UNCTAD is a founding member of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development along with the International Telecommunication Union

49、and UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs as well as various UN Regional Commissions and other international bodies including the OECD and Eurostat.2 Together,and with input from countries,the partnership developed the Core ICT Indicators,3 which was adopted by UN member states through the U

50、N Statistical Commission.This core list includes 12 indicators on ICT access and usage by enterprises.The UNCTAD Manual for the Production of Statistics on the Digital Economy(UNCTAD,2021a)supports countries in producing these indicators by setting out detailed specifications and model questions.Add

51、itionally,the Manual provides guidance on developing and implementing surveys on ICT usage and e-commerce in businesses,which are widely used to gather the data needed for these indicators.Among these indicators are the share of businesses making sales online,as well as the share of businesses purch

52、asing inputs via e-commerce.More recently,the UNCTAD Secretariat has received various enquiries from countries asking for guidance and support with going beyond this to measure the monetary value of e-commerce.Such measures,and their breakdown into domestic and cross-border transactions,are a prereq

53、uisite for analysis linking e-commerce to economic performance.Broad availability of these measures across a wide range of economies is needed to answer questions such as:What is the impact of e-commerce uptake by domestic businesses on economic growth,employment,trade,and economic development?To wh

54、at extent does e-commerce contribute to additional economic activity vs.replacing existing ordering channels?INTRODUCTION3 Does access to e-commerce ordering encourage customers(whether households or organisations)to substitute domestic purchases with alternatives bought from abroad?What contextual

55、factors influence the above,such the sizes and industries of firms involved,payment methods used,trade openness of the country,etc.?Importantly in this context,a lack of evidence on the links between e-commerce,trade and development means that much UNCTAD advice to countries is predicated on the not

56、ion that e-commerce has the potential to be of economic benefit.The information outlined on the value of e-commerce would allow for empirical analysis that could yield a more robust and nuanced understanding of these relationships.Simply put,e-commerce refers to transactions in which goods or servic

57、es are ordered over a computer network(e.g.,over the Internet).Any economic entity,whether a business,household,government unit,or non-profit institution,can engage in e-commerce as a buyer or seller.Furthermore,e-commerce transactions often cross international borders,with the seller being in a dif

58、ferent economic territory to the buyer.Since 2017,UNCTAD has gathered figures related to the monetary value of e-commerce sales in different economies as a basis for deriving estimates of global e-commerce sales(UNCTAD 2017,2020,2021b).For example,it was estimated that“global e-commerce sales jumped

59、 to$26.7 trillion globally in 2019,up 4 per cent from 2018”(UNCTAD,2021c).Such estimates are subject to major limitations.Firstly,because exhaustive and internationally comparable national statistics on the value of e-commerce sales are not widely available,a range of other sources are relied on in

60、their absence.These include business surveys asking about e-commerce sales,household surveys asking about e-commerce purchases(and sometimes sales),official statistics on online retail sales(which represent only a small portion of business-to-consumer(B2C)e-commerce),and analyses of sources such as

61、payment card transactions data or parcel post volumes.Furthermore,the figures gathered vary in provenance,ranging from nationally representative surveys undertaken by official statistical agencies to surveys conducted by business,Internet,or e-commerce association members and figures produced by pri

62、vate market intelligence firms.Thus,the extent to which the measures available are exhaustive and representative of each economy,and can be meaningfully compared to one another in practice,is limited.Secondly,even when drawing upon such a wide range of sources,it is still the case that there is no i

63、nformation available for most countries.Arriving at a“global”figure necessitates the use of assumptions notably that the average share of e-commerce sales relative to GDP will be the same across other countries as in those for which data are available.This is a strong assumption given the considerab

64、le difference in the degree of digitalization between the large and more advanced economies represented by the data gathered,and other economies including those in Africa,Latin America and the Caribbean,and the least developed countries(LDCs).Finally,the estimates cover only transactions with busine

65、sses as sellers i.e.,business-to-business(B2B)and B2C e-commerce.Other economic units can also engage in e-commerce,most notably households are increasingly selling MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE4goods(such as unwanted or handmade items)and services(such as car journeys and stays in spare rooms)o

66、nline,predominantly through“digital intermediation platforms”(DIPs).These limitations are a product of the lack of generally available,comparable,and exhaustive official statistics on the value of e-commerce.Despite its limitations,the estimate of the global value of e-commerce gives a useful indica

67、tion of the potential scale and importance of e-commerce globally,as well as a means of highlighting the limitations in source data and the need for concerted international measurement effort.Taking steps to address the limited availability of data on the value of e-commerce will allow for better st

68、atistics and analysis at the national and international levels and,thereby,a basis for better policymaking as all countries navigate the digital transformation.This analysis is a first step toward developing statistical guidance and support to address information gaps and respond to countries needs

69、related to measuring the value of e-commerce.SEEKING ESTIMATES OF THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE SALES52.Seeking estimates of the value of e-commerce salesEnterprises are a natural starting point for measuring e-commerce,which is an increasingly important way for them to sell their goods and services.It is

70、 reasonable to assert that businesses will usually account for the significant majority of e-commerce sales by value.By extension,they would also be expected to underpin the majority of digitally ordered exports.Even though focussing on businesses will not give a complete picture of e-commerce in a

71、given economy business sources will not tell of the value of e-commerce sales by households,for instance measuring businesses e-commerce sales can be expected to yield the“biggest single piece of the puzzle”.Businesses also make extensive use of e-commerce to buy goods and services as inputs to thei

72、r activities.Although this is of great relevance to understanding the impacts of e-commerce,especially in relation to substitution effects,it is not necessary for measuring the direct economic contribution of e-commerce(in terms of business sales,which contribute to GDP).Furthermore,it appears that

73、measures of business expenditure on e-commerce purchases are(even)less widely available.For these reasons,this analysis focuses on business e-commerce sales.Given the centrality of businesses,e-commerce measurement is a direct complement to,and can build directly upon,UNCTADs existing efforts to bro

74、aden the implementation of business ICT usage and e-commerce surveys internationally.As a first step toward understanding the approaches taken to measure e-commerce,it is necessary to identify the relevant estimates available.As noted above,measures related to the value of e-commerce can come from a

75、 wide variety of sources.This research focusses on figures produced by national statistical offices and other government statistical sources as these are most likely to produce nationally representative figures according to internationally accepted statistical standards.Drawing upon the information

76、gathered in producing UNCTADs estimates of global e-commerce,business e-commerce value figures that were produced by official statistical agencies(“official estimates”)were identified for analysis.In addition,the national statistics websites of all countries participating in the Eurostat collection

77、of data on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises were searched for published figures on the value of e-commerce.This is because the European Community survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises includes questions on business revenue from e-commerce sales and although statistics on the monet

78、ary value of e-commerce are not required to be compiled and submitted to Eurostat,it was found that several countries have used the data gathered to derive and publish their own estimates.MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE6The national statistics websites of other countries taking part in the OECD co

79、llection of business ICT usage data were also searched for estimates,as were those of ASEAN countries,as these countries tend to have relatively advanced statistics on business ICT usage that might collect information on the value of e-commerce sales.However,due to the time and resources available,i

80、ncluding language resources,it was not possible to exhaustively search the websites and publications of all official statistics bodies worldwide and,as such,relevant statistics may be available for further economies.Notwithstanding this,it is notable that no official estimates appear to be available

81、 for countries in Africa,nor for any of the LDCs.These countries tend to have limitations both in the availability of statistics and also in their ability to engage with the digital transformation.Nevertheless,the information found is deemed sufficient for the purpose of this analysis:examining the

82、various measurement approaches used to identify similarities and differences,which may offer opportunities for international efforts to develop statistical guidance to support all countries in measuring the value of e-commerce in a standardized and comparable manner.Figure 1 presents official estima

83、tes of the value of e-commerce sales by businesses.The figures available indicate that the United States has the largest e-commerce marketplace.In general,the total value of e-commerce transactions has been increasing over time in all economies shown,reflecting the on-going digitalization of commerc

84、e.The economic disruption associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and,more recently,the war in Ukraine,may have suppressed the overall value of e-commerce sales in some cases.Even so,it is likely that e-commerce sales made up an increasing share of total business sales in many economies during this ti

85、me similar to how digitally deliverable services significantly increased as a share of services exports as the pandemic progressed(UNCTAD,2021d),(UNCTAD,2022).For instance,in Spain,e-commerce turnover fell by 10 per cent from 2019 to 2020(in current prices);but the average annual decline in the mont

86、hly business turnover index from 2019 to 2020 was greater,at 14 per cent(Instituto National de Estadistica,2022).These series are not adjusted for changes in prices,therefore some of the trends seen may result from price changes rather than absolute changes in the volume of e-commerce.It is importan

87、t to note that movements in the measured value of e-commerce sales can also be influenced by other factors related more to measurement than to“real world”developments.These can include the movement of certain firms into and out of the sample,large variations in the responses received from certain fi

88、rms between periods,and the varying extent to which the responses of firms with different characteristics are“amplified”when“grossing up”to derive nationally representative figures,among others.SEEKING ESTIMATES OF THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE SALES7Figure 1.E-commerce sales,US$billions,current prices,20

89、12-202110,0009,0008,0007,0006,0005,0004,0003,0002,0001,0002000021USD billionsUnited StatesJapanFranceSpainHungaryPolandSloveniaMaltaPhilippinesIndonesia*Singapore*ThailandAustriaMalaysiaFinlandHong King,ChinaCanadaAustraliaUnited KingdomChinaKorea(Rep.)1,000800600400

90、2002000021USD billions25022520007550252000021USD billions2520001920202021USD billionsSource:UNCTAD based on national sources.Note:Sales by businesses only.Figures in national currency conver

91、ted to US$using UNCTAD annual exchange rates.The comparability and robustness of the series presented is limited.For most economies,the underlying source is a business ICT usage/e-commerce survey or other business survey(e.g.,business activity survey).The series for Japan is based on a somewhat diff

92、erent approach,see box in section 3.5.*Singapore:services only,Indonesia:based on a“profiling survey”sampling businesses in 3,504 of over 800,000 census blocks across 34 of 37 provinces;as such these figures are not representative of all business e-commerce.For Australia,the reporting year ends in J

93、une of the year shown.MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE8Although the series presented are all produced by official statistical agencies,many of them are best regarded as“experimental”and the data sources and compilation methods used vary in ways likely to affect international comparability.Further d

94、etails and source links for these series are provided in Annex 1.This analysis examines the different measurement approaches adopted in producing these figures to identify areas of commonality and divergence as a basis for developing statistical guidance on measuring the value of e-commerce.The anal

95、ysis included looking at the underlying survey questionnaires,which are available online for most of the economies shown.In other cases,the questionnaire form,or relevant excerpts of it,were provided to UNCTAD by the relevant statistical agency.Where necessary,translation into English was performed

96、using Google Translate or DeepL Translator.4 The following sections set out findings.4.Although this may not result in a perfect translation,it allows key aspects of the question structure and approach used to be identified(such as whether the amount is collected directly in currency or as a percent

97、age of revenue).Google Translate available at https:/ Translator available at https:/ IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?93.How is e-commerce measured?5.Electronic Data Interchange is the computer-to-computer transmission of(business)data such as shipping orders,purchase orders,invoices,and requests for quotati

98、ons in a standard format using agreed standards.The messages are composed and processed without human intervention,which increases the speed of order processing,and reduces errors.It is used in a wide variety of industries including food,retail,logistics,and manufacturing,to efficiently manage inter

99、national supply chains(e.g.,Just-in-time inventory management),though the adoption of EDI technologies varies greatly between countries.The data underlying the official estimates of the value of e-commerce presented above are,in essence,collected by asking businesses“how much money did your business

100、 earn from e-commerce sales in a given reporting period?”.Nevertheless,economies differ in the definitions adopted,how they are reflected in survey questions,and the scope and methods of the survey vehicles used.3.1.DefinitionsAnswering the above question requires definitions for two key concepts“e-

101、commerce”and“money earned”.Countries have taken different approaches to each of these.3.1.1.E-commerceInternationally accepted definitions of e-commerce were set out by the OECD in the mid-2000s and subsequently streamlined into the following definition adopted in 2009(OECD,2011,p.72):An e-commerce

102、transaction is the sale or purchase of goods or services,conducted over computer networks by methods specifically designed for the purpose of receiving or placing of orders.The goods or services are ordered by those methods,but the payment and the ultimate delivery of the goods or services do not ha

103、ve to be conducted online.An e-commerce transaction can be between enterprises,households,individuals,Governments,and other public or private organizations.As a guideline for interpreting and applying this,the OECD clarifies that the definition includes orders made through web pages,extranet,or elec

104、tronic data interchange(EDI5)but excludes orders placed by telephone,fax,or manually typed email.These are excluded because they are not“specifically designed for the purpose MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE10of receiving or placing orders”and involve the direct interaction of human beings.By logic

105、al extension,this would also apply to communication methods that have become widely used since 2009 such as video calls and tools for sending manually typed electronic messages similar to emails,such as messaging apps and social media services(a box in section 3.3.2 considers the relationship betwee

106、n social media and e-commerce in more detail).This definition is widely used,especially amongst OECD member countries and countries implementing the European model surveys on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises.The UNCTAD Manual for the Production of Statistics on E-commerce and the Digital Econ

107、omy(UNCTAD,2021a)also relies on the OECD definition but provides the following guidance for countries implementing the definition in practice:To take into account the different levels of technological development in countries,the Partnership on measuring ICT for development recommends collecting dat

108、a only on orders received or placed over the Internet,including by email(the latter is excluded from the OECD definition).This implies an“UNCTAD definition”that is both more restricted and more expansive:Focussing only on orders placed through the Internet would lead to the exclusion of any e-commer

109、ce orders taking place through private networks such as the“value added networks”for carrying EDI messages between businesses which arose in some countries before the Internet became ubiquitous.However,the Internet is now the default network for most applications including orders between businesses(

110、e.g.,“EDI over Internet”)and so this exclusion is unlikely to have material consequences except in countries where private networks are still in use(unlikely in most developing countries).6 Admitting orders made via manually typed emails(and,by logical extension,other forms of manually typed electro

111、nic messages such as those sent through messaging apps)leads to a wider scope of e-commerce.The latter point is likely to have differing implications across industries and economies.In those with a long history of digitalization and relatively high adoption of digital technologies among firms and ho

112、useholds,such as most developed countries,orders via manually typed messages are unlikely to be widely used when it is common for companies to sell through online shops or marketplaces.By contrast,in developing countries where such sales channels,and the skills to use them,may be less common,email/m

113、essaging apps provide businesses(especially small,“local”businesses)with a low cost and easily accessible way to use the Internet to make sales.Evidence from Brazil(Brazilian Internet Steering Committee CGI.br,2022)showed that the disruption wrought by the COVID-19 6.Including only orders placed thr

114、ough the Internet aligns with the OECDs 2005“narrow definition of e-commerce”,which was superseded in 2009 by the consolidated definition presented above covering all orders made through“computer networks”.HOW IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?11pandemic encouraged many companies to begin online sales,with the

115、 share of enterprises selling online increasing sharply from 56 per cent in 2019 to 74 per cent in 2021.Regarding the online sales channels used,the greatest increases were in businesses reporting sales via channels excluded under the OECD definition of e-commerce.The share of businesses selling via

116、 messaging apps almost doubled from 42 per cent in 2019 to 78 per cent in 2021,while selling by email increased from 39 per cent to 62 per cent and via social networks from 20 per cent to 39 per cent of businesses.Considering firms that sell online through only one channel,messaging apps were chosen

117、 by half of small enterprises(10-49 persons employed)with a further 30 per cent making online sales through email only.Meanwhile,although around one third of large enterprises(250+persons employed)used websites,apps,online marketplaces,or EDI as a sole channel for online sales,almost two thirds sold

118、 only through email(50 per cent)or messaging applications(11 per cent).One-in-four medium-sized enterprises(50-249 persons employed)selling online through only one channel did so via email or messaging apps.Taken together,this suggests that including such channels is likely to give a much more repre

119、sentative picture of how businesses use the Internet to make sales,and the economic value generated,in certain countries.Further variation can arise at the point of using the international definitions and guidelines as a basis for designing national survey forms and questions.Table 1 presents the ec

120、onomies in terms of whether sales agreed via manually typed emails are included,and whether transactions over all computer networks or the Internet only are covered.This categorisation is based on the definitions and questions set to respondents in survey questionnaires,where available,and otherwise

121、 on details from methodological information published online or shared with UNCTAD.Of the 21 economies presented in Figure 1,plus Mexico for which a 2013 business questionnaire collecting e-commerce value is available online,but no directly comparable statistics are available7 a majority use definit

122、ions covering 7.The Mexico 2013 business ICT usage survey measured the value of e-commerce sales.Alongside other sources,the results contributed to annual statistics on“gross value added of e-commerce”in retail trade,wholesale trade,and“other services”.These are not presented in Figure 1 due to conc

123、eptual differences between sales revenues and gross value added(seehttps:/en.www.inegi.org.mx/programas/vabcoel/2018/).MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE12all“computer networks”but a significant group(around one quarter)address transactions through the Internet specifically.At the same time,almost on

124、e-in-four of these economies include orders placed via email when estimating the value of e-commerce.In most of these surveys,the e-commerce section includes an explicit definition of“e-commerce”to guide respondents.Others list specific inclusions and exclusions.Further detail can be found in Annex

125、2.Table 1.Classification of economies by features of e-commerce definitionsExcludes orders via manually typed emailIncludes orders via manually typed emailAll“computer networks”Austria China Finland France Hungary Hong Kong,China Japan Korea(Rep.)Malta Philippines Poland Singapore Slovenia Spain Uni

126、ted Kingdom United StatesInternet only Canada Malaysia Australia Indonesia Mexico ThailandSource:UNCTAD based on national sources.3.1.2.Money earnedOnce e-commerce is defined,it would appear relatively straightforward to ask businesses“how much money did your business earn via e-commerce?”.However,e

127、conomies adopt various concepts and differences in financial accounting.European countries tend to request measures of“turnover”whereas economies in other regions tend to ask for“sales”/“receipts”/“revenue”/“income”.There are differences which arise in the scope of these depending on the guidance se

128、t out on survey forms and in national financial accounting rules.Most notable are differences in the treatment of sales taxes such as value added tax(VAT)or goods and services tax(GST).Of the economies for which this information is available,only two(Indonesia and Thailand)ask respondents to report

129、figures including amounts collected for sales taxes(i.e.,“gross”).China also publishes enterprise e-commerce sales inclusive of VAT.Hong Kong,China does not implement such a sales tax.The treatment of sales taxes is unknown for several further Asian economies.With standard VAT/GST rates of up to 21

130、per cent in the countries represented,the inclusion or exclusion of taxes from the value of e-commerce could materially affect the ability to make meaningful comparisons across economies.HOW IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?13Other differences also arise,such as whether amounts are to be reported including or

131、 excluding discounts given(e.g.,for early payment by business customers)or the value of items returned for refund.Annex 3 provides additional detail on the monetary concepts relevant to measuring the value of e-commerce transactions in different economies.A final aspect of this relates to the guidan

132、ce given in questionnaires to help respondents in certain types of businesses with correctly reporting their e-commerce income.Several countries include notes making clear to respondents which operate online marketplaces(i.e.,“digital intermediary platforms”)that they should report only the fees or

133、commissions earned on those transactions,rather than the full transaction amount(gross merchandise sales value).Examples include Malaysia and Australia,which also includes a note clarifying that for financial services businesses“only the fees earned for providing services as a result of orders recei

134、ved via the Internet”should be reported.In Hungary,the survey form notes that“if your enterprise consists of more than one legal unit,do not include turnover from internal trade among the different legal units of your enterprise”.Definitions questions are just one aspect of differences between pract

135、ical implementation in survey questions,which is examined in more detail in the next section.3.2.Approaches to measuring valueDiversity in measurement also arises in how concepts of“e-commerce”and“money earned”are combined and implemented in business survey questionnaires.In general,two main approac

136、hes to gathering data on the total value of e-commerce can be identified:In the direct approach,businesses are asked to report a monetary value for their e-commerce sales.In most cases,these figures are requested rounded to the nearest whole currency unit(e.g.,dollar)but in some questionnaires respo

137、ndents are asked to round to the nearest thousand currency units.The share approach involves asking respondents to provide a monetary value for a relevant total,such as annual turnover or sales revenue8,and also to give the percentage share of that total arising from e-commerce sales.Together,these

138、items can be used to derive an estimate of the responding enterprises e-commerce revenues.8.Although it is most often the case that this total is collected on the same survey(or pre-filled by the NSO for confirmation by the respondent),several countries do not do this and instead use information fro

139、m other business data sources.One example of this is the approach used by the UK Office for National Statistics until 2019(https:/www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandinternetindustry/bulletins/e-commerceandictactivity/2019#measuring-the-data).MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE14Box 1 present

140、s an illustrative example of both these approaches being applied in a survey form.The questions used in other survey questionnaires are presented in Annex 4.Box 1.E-commerce value questions in the Malaysian Survey on Usage of ICT and E-commerce by Establishment 2020Source:https:/www.dosm.gov.my/v1/u

141、ploads/files/2_Censuses%26Surveys/Services/ICTeC/2020/Borang-ICTEC-2020.pdf Note:RM refers to Malaysian Ringgit.Figure 2 categorises economies based on the approaches adopted in their survey questionnaires.It shows that many offer respondents both options.Nevertheless,the precise framing varies.In C

142、anada and Hong Kong,China both the monetary value and percentage of sales are requested.In Austria,Finland,and the U.S.Services Annual survey respondents are asked to provide either the monetary value or percentage.By contrast,in other cases where both options are offered,the survey questionnaires a

143、re explicit in saying estimated percentages should only be entered if providing a monetary value is not possible.More generally,it is quite common for questionnaires to specify that estimates should be provided whenever exact figures(monetary value or percentage)are not available.HOW IS E-COMMERCE M

144、EASURED?15Figure 2.Approaches to measuring the value of e-commerce,by economyChinaKorea(Rep.)MexicoSingaporeThailandUnited States(retail,wholesale)United KingdomDirectShareAustraliaHungaryIndonesiaSpainUnited States (Manufacturing)AustriaCanadaFinlandFranceHong Kong,ChinaMaltaMalaysiaPolandSloveniaU

145、nited States(services)Source:UNCTAD based on national survey questionnaires and details provided by statistical agencies.Only five of the questionnaires analysed adopt the share-based approach alone.Coupled with the tendency of surveys implementing both collection approaches to explicitly favour res

146、ponses as a monetary value(if not requesting both)this loosely points toward the direct approach being most preferred.Nevertheless,there is currently no clear emerging international“standard approach”.Indeed,country experiences have varied,with several having changed approach over time.For example,t

147、he Australian Bureau of Statistics(2018)notes that a share-based approach was“put in place to address reporting errors previously observed when the actual dollar figure was requested”.By contrast,the new Digital Economy Survey implemented by the UK Office for National Statistics replaced the percent

148、ages requested in previous surveys with monetary reporting.One reason for this was that accurately calculating the percentage requires the respondent to have(or estimate)the monetary value and it is therefore less burdensome if they provide that amount directly.In most of these economies,the main it

149、em collected is a value/percentage for total e-commerce sales.By contrast,countries which follow the Eurostat model questionnaire adopt a different approach in which two constituent components of e-commerce sales are collected:“web sales”sales made via an online store(web shop),via web forms on a we

150、bsite or extranet,or via web applications(“apps”)and“EDI-type sales”.These components can be added together to derive a total for e-commerce sales,but the approach of collecting two separate items can have implications for the availability of breakdown information,as shown in the next section.Box 2

151、looks in more detail at the information collected and available in countries participating in the Eurostat statistical collection.MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE16Box 2.E-commerce value in the European community survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprisesSince 2011,the model surveys which fo

152、rm the basis for business ICT usage data collected in the EU and several partner countries have included questions asking respondents for the value(in national currency,excluding VAT)or percentage of total turnover generated through e-commerce sales.This is requested both for“web sales”(those made t

153、hrough websites or apps belonging to the enterprise or to a third-party online marketplace)and“EDI-type sales”.Together these two components represent all e-commerce transactions.The data collected are used to populate a Eurostat database table entitled“Value of e-commerce sales”.However,these stati

154、stics are expressed as a percentage of enterprise turnover not as a monetary value.Additional breakdowns(see section 4)are provided based on the actors involved(B2C,B2B,etc.)and the sales channels used(e.g.,own website/apps,3rd party websites/apps/marketplaces,EDI).The Eurostat model survey also dis

155、tinguishes the value of sales to domestic vs foreign customers for web sales,though this is not available in the Eurostat database at the time of writing.While the Eurostat database focusses on turnover shares,statistics published directly by the National Statistical Offices of Austria,Finland,Franc

156、e,Hungary,Malta,Poland,Slovenia,and Spain(as well as the United Kingdom when it was an EU member)show that the data collected through these surveys can be used to derive estimates of the value of e-commerce sales.Importantly,these are not only countries which collect responses in monetary values;Spa

157、in collects responses expressed as a percentage of total turnover(as did the UK up to 2019),while other countries offer respondents both monetary and percentage options.This shows that both types of responses can be used to estimate the monetary value of e-commerce and,as a result,EU and partner cou

158、ntries are especially well placed to develop e-commerce value measures.The development of guidance could support and encourage additional countries to use the data they have gathered to compile experimental estimates.3.3.Breakdowns of total e-commerce valueOf the 22 economies listed in Table 1,all b

159、ut one have implemented some form of further breakdown of e-commerce sales value.This is assessed by examining the additional details requested in survey questionnaires as well as the details given in published e-commerce value statistics.In some cases,break down questions have been included in the

160、survey questionnaire,but the resulting statistics have not been published.Figure 3 summarises the different breakdowns collected and/or published in these economies.Almost three quarters have published one or more breakdowns based on firm characteristics(e.g.industry classification,employment size-b

161、and,whether the firm is classed as an SME or not).Considering such characteristics are routinely collected on many business surveys it is likely that other economies would have the possibility to compile these details.Beyond that,and given that e-commerce refers to transactions involving(at least)tw

162、o parties and facilitated by a range of different digital tools,there are several additional breakdowns that are collected.HOW IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?17Figure 3.E-commerce breakdowns,by number of implementing economies(22 economies in total)206420Actors(B2C,B2B,etc)Industry(published)Sale

163、s channel(e.g.,ownwebsite/apps,3rd.party/marketplaces,EDI)Domestic/foreigncustomersEmploymentsizeband(published)PaymentmethodsProduct type(good,digitalservice,otherservice)Number of econimiesSource:UNCTAD based on national survey questionnaires and published statistics.Note:For EU countries other th

164、an Spain,some breakdowns are implemented for web sales only(and not for EDI-type sales).Republic of Korea:payment methods only available for the sum of B2C+consumer-to-consumer(C2C)e-commerce.United States:sales channel only collected on the annual wholesale trade survey,unavailable for enterprises

165、in other industries.Most often,these breakdowns are collected by asking respondents to provide percentages allocating the total value of e-commerce sales between different categories(which sum to 100 per cent).By contrast,some countries prioritise collection of monetary values.For example,in designi

166、ng a new Digital Economy Survey for the 2021 reporting year,the UK Office for National Statistics adopted an approach which not only includes a wide range of breakdowns but also combines many of them(See Annex5),with all breakdown items being requested in pounds sterling.The following sub-sections e

167、xamine these breakdowns in more detail,while the cross-border dimension is addressed in section 3.4.3.3.1.ActorsThe most widely implemented breakdown of e-commerce value is based on the actors involved in the transaction.In principle,all economic agents businesses,households/individuals,government b

168、odies,and non-profits can engage in e-commerce as buyers or sellers.Even so,sellers will most often be businesses,although households are also increasingly engaging in e-commerce sales(often facilitated by online platforms).Different combinations of sellers and buyers have different policy and econo

169、mic implications,hence the relevance of this breakdown.MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE18Of the 22 economies covered by this analysis,18 implement a breakdown based on actors.However,there is variation in the actors covered.Table 2 provides an overview of the options respondents are given in differ

170、ent surveys for dividing their e-commerce revenues according to the actors involved.Table 2.Respondent options for categorising e-commerce revenues according to actors on survey questionnaires in different economiesB2C,B2BB2C,B2B,B2GB2C,B2B/GB2B/G onlyB2C,B2B,B2G+nonprofit Indonesia Japan Korea(Rep.

171、)Malaysia Mexico Singapore Spain Thailand United Kingdom Austria Finland France Hungary Malta Poland Slovenia Canada (residual assumed B2C)Hong Kong,ChinaSource:UNCTAD based on national survey questionnaires.Note:B2C:sales from businesses to consumers(i.e.,households/individuals)B2B:sales from busin

172、esses to other businesses Business-to-government(B2G):sales from businesses to government customersIn Canada,only sales businesses and government bodies(B2B/G)are delineated,with the assumption that the remainder of e-commerce sales are B2C.Only Hong Kong,China explicitly acknowledges that non-profi

173、t organisations can be e-commerce customers and are not covered in the other categories of actors.This is relevant because,in most cases,the survey forms used require that the components add up to 100 per cent of total e-commerce.While e-commerce sales to non-profits are unlikely to be economically

174、significant in general,it is unclear what impacts leaving their recording ambiguous might have on the responses received.3.3.2.Sales channelsDespite being a relatively widely adopted form of breakdown,the categories offered to responding businesses vary widely across economies.As noted in Box 2,coun

175、tries following the European community model survey(Austria,Finland,France,Hungary,Malta,Poland,Slovenia,Spain)do not directly collect and break down a value for total e-commerce.Instead,values for“EDI-type sales”and“web sales”are collected.Respondents are then asked to provide an estimated percenta

176、ge breakdown of web sales between those received via“your enterprises websites or apps”and“via e-commerce marketplace websites or apps used by several enterprises for trading goods or services”.Hong Kong,China publishes a similar breakdown.As summarised in Table 3,there is much more variation across

177、 other cases.HOW IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?19Table 3.Respondent options for categorising e-commerce revenues according to sales channels on survey questionnaires in different economiesSimplified overview,precise terminology used may varySales channelAustria,Finland,France,Hungary,Malta,Poland,Slovenia,

178、Spain,Hong Kong SARKorea(Rep.)MalaysiaThailandUnited KingdomUnited States(wholesale trade only)Own websites/apps(incl.extranet*)(Websites and apps separately)Online market places/intermediary platforms/3rd parties*EDI-typePrivate network(e.g.,extranet,EDI over closed network)(incl.extranet)(incl.ext

179、ranet)Social mediaLive streaming platformsDropship merchant sellersForeign websites“Other platforms”/“others”(specify)(specify)Online system sales(Internet,mobile,extranet,email,instant messaging)(incl.extranet)Open sales:bidding method or sales to a large number of unspecified companiesSource:UNCTA

180、D based on national survey questionnaires and published statistics.Note:*unknown for Hong Kong,China.*Measured by surveying marketplace operators directly.“specify”respondents are asked to name the platforms used and specify the value/share of sales through them.MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE20In

181、 the United States annual wholesale trade survey,EDI sales are split out from other sales(no sales channel breakdown is implemented in the other U.S.surveys).Malaysia and Korea(Rep.)take an approach where orders placed through private/closed networks are separately categorized but adopt a differing

182、categorization for other orders.The United Kingdoms new Digital Economy Survey implemented for the 2021 joins Thailands(business)e-commerce survey in separately categorising sales via social media.Box3 considers the relationship between social media and e-commerce in more detail.Photo:Unsplash HOW I

183、S E-COMMERCE MEASURED?21Box 3.Social media and e-commerceSocial media comprises“forms of electronic communication(such as websites for social networking and microblogging)through which users create online communities to share information,ideas,personal messages,and other content(such as videos)”(Mer

184、riam-Webster,2022).Social media can facilitate e-commerce in several ways:1.Marketing.Social media presence can be used to direct potential customers to a business webstore in order to make a purchase.In this case social media plays only a marketing role,the transaction takes places elsewhere.2.Onli

185、ne shop.Some social media services allow users to purchase products directly from posts made by sellers.For example,with“Checkout on Facebook and Instagram”sellers post about an item for sale and users viewing the post see an“add to cart”or“buy now”button through which they can purchase the item con

186、cerned.The transaction is handled within Facebook/Instagram.WeChat offers features where businesses can set up a profile page within the platform and customers can order and pay for goods and services.Purchased digital content,can even be streamed directly within the platform.3.In such cases,the soc

187、ial media platform could be seen as playing a“hybrid”role in which it provides the infrastructure and interface for businesses to operate their own online shops(similar to Shopify)but also is facilitating a type of online marketplace with multiple sellers and buyers and a unified search function.4.S

188、ocial media marketplace.Some social media platforms provide an explicit online marketplace.For example,Facebook Marketplace allows individuals and businesses to“buy and sell goods locally and shipped”.5.Sales via social media messaging.Messaging and communication features are a key element of social

189、 media.These provide an online means for sellers and buyers to discuss and agree on transactions,often with payment taking place offline(e.g.,on collection).Such transactions are most likely to be relevant for small businesses and especially in developing countries where the financial resources and

190、skills needed to set up and manage a web shop can pose a significant barrier.At the other end of the spectrum,some highly digitalised companies are adopting messenger“bots”through which customers can place orders by responding to automated questions.One example is“Dom”the Dominos Pizza Facebook Mess

191、enger bot.Several issues and questions arise from the multi-faceted role of social media in e-commerce.In cases 2-4 above,the social media platform/service is the channel through which the order is placed/received,but how this is achieved varies.The case of sales via social media messaging involving

192、 humans discussing and agreeing transactions via manually typed messages is identical in substance to agreement via manually typed emails.As shown in Table 1 countries vary in including or excluding such transactions from measures of e-commerce.When a human is communicating with a bot,such that thei

193、r messages(even when manually typed)are automatically processed,responded to,and the result is an order being placed,there is a strong argument to be made for these orders being included within the scope of e-commerce.None of the surveys analysed(including those addressing social media sales more ge

194、nerally)specifically addresses orders placed via manually typed social media messages,though the US annual wholesale trade survey states that sales by“instant messaging”are included alongside sales by e-mail and other components within“online system sales”.MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE22On a mor

195、e practical level,businesses making sales on social media platforms may well struggle to place such sales within the most widely used breakdown structure where sales through“online marketplaces”are distinguished from sales made through the business“own website or apps”.Perhaps as a response to this,

196、several countries have implemented separate categories for reporting social media sales.The UK Office for National Statistics specifically asks for“turnover from e-commerce sales via this business own social media”alongside turnover from other channels including the respondents own website/apps and

197、online marketplaces(Office for National Satistics,2022).Thailand(Electronic Transactions Development Agency,2019)includes two relevant categories among the eight online sales channels offered for breaking down the value of product/service sales“social media”and“live streaming platform(such as Facebo

198、ok Live of Instagram Story)”.Following from this is the following question:The variety of ways in which social networks can facilitate e-commerce transactions,and the difficulty with which these fit into common categorisations of e-commerce sales channels suggest an area where statistical guidance m

199、ay be beneficial to support countries in measuring the value of e-commerce in a robust and consistent way.HOW IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?233.3.3.Payment methodsThree economies publish a breakdown of e-commerce sales by payment methods.Most straightforwardly,Hong Kong,China breaks out the portion of tran

200、sactions paid online vs other modes of payment(Census and Statistics Department,2022).Korea(Rep.)publishes a split of the total for B2C+C2C(consumer-to-consumer)e-commerce transactions according to whether payment was made by money transfer,credit cards,emoney,or other means(Statistics Korea,2014).F

201、inally,Thailands e-commerce survey collects a percentage split of the responding business e-commerce sales revenues across 12 different means of payment from cards to cash to cryptocurrency(Electronic Transactions Development Agency,2019,p.113).3.3.4.Product typeThe Canadian survey of digital techno

202、logy and Internet use 2021 and the UK Digital Economy survey ask responding businesses to break down their total e-commerce revenue according to whether the product supplied was:A(physical)good A digitally delivered service A non-digitally delivered serviceFinland has also implemented a similar brea

203、kdown for web sales only.For businesses in Canada,62 per cent of the value of gross sales conducted over the Internet related to physical goods in 2021.The remainder was split fairly evenly between digitally delivered and other services.This relatively simple categorization offers insights into the

204、functioning of the business,their extent of digitalization,etc.It also provides information that is crucial when using statistics on cross-border e-commerce to measure digital trade,as covered in the following section.Several countries have published more detail on the products concerned.For example

205、,Kostat(2014)disaggregated the total value of B2C+C2C e-commerce sales across 16 categories of goods and services,with the most spending recorded on“Travel arrangement and reservation services”,“Clothes and fashion related goods”,and“Household goods,motor vehicle parts and accessories”.This section

206、has demonstrated the considerable variation in both the types of breakdowns collected and the specific categories and details implemented in different surveys.This poses a challenge for countries looking to start measuring the value of e-commerce as there is no clear international set or priorities

207、or model to follow regarding breakdowns for e-commerce value.The development of internationally agreed guidelines would help to address this.MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE243.4.Cross-border e-commerceWhen it comes to assessing the economic role of e-commerce,aside from the overall value of e-comm

208、erce sales,one of the most important details is the distinction between domestic transactions and those involving customers abroad.This gives crucial insight into the extent to which firms are using e-commerce to engage with global markets and generate export revenues,which contribute directly to GD

209、P and economic growth.Cross-border e-commerce is one component of digital trade.Digitalization has the potential to significantly reduce the barriers firms face in pursuing export opportunities.This is especially the case for small and medium enterprises for which the costs and risks of doing so may

210、 often be insurmountable if exporting entails travelling abroad to find potential customers and agree orders.The possibility of having a“global shop window”online,fundamentally changes firms ability to find customers abroad(as well as domestically).E-commerce provides the means to receive orders fro

211、m those customers in a straightforward often automated way.It therefore has the potential to drive trade in all countries,but it is in developing countries where e-commerce offers the greatest opportunities to surmount entrenched barriers and spur trade participation.E-commerce should thus enable ex

212、ports and has the potential to contribute a material portion of export earnings.E-commerce not only fuels exports but also imports.This can offer access to greater choice and lower prices but can also subject domestic producers to increased competition from abroad.Without widely available estimates

213、of the value of cross-border e-commerce,the scope for linking e-commerce to trade,growth,employment,and development,as well as to examine whether e-commerce is promoting additional trade or mainly substituting pre-existing ordering channels in different countries and contexts is severely limited.Few

214、 countries have published statistics on the value of business cross-border e-commerce sales,as shown in Figure 4.Many more countries have collected relevant information though(see Section 3.5),most notably those following the European community model surveys which included a breakdown of web sales(b

215、ut not EDI-type sales)into those going to domestic customers,customers in other EU countries,and customers outside the EU as mandatory variables in 2021(reporting year 2020 for e-commerce questions),having previously featured this as an optional breakdown in 2019 and 2017.The other EU countries show

216、n have not followed Spain in going beyond the provisions of the EU implementing regulation9 to break down EDI-type sales.As such their figures reflect web sales only,which comprise only a minority(around one third)of e-commerce sales in those countries.9.Commission implementing regulation(EU)2020/10

217、30 available at https:/eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32020R1030&from=ENHOW IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?25Figure 4.E-commerce sales,domestic and abroad,2021 or latest year available$billions and percentage of goods and services exports0%4%8%12%16%20%-200 400 600 800 1.000UnitedKin

218、gdom(2019)Spain(2021)Canada(2021)Malaysia(2019)Thailand(2021)Slovenia(2021)*Austria(2021)*Poland(2021)*France(2020)*%of exportsUSD billionsEDI sales(breakdown unavailable)($)e-commerce sales:cross-border($)e-commerce sales:domestic($)Cross-border e-commerce,%of exports(right axis)Source:UNCTAD based

219、 on national sources and World Bank“Exports of goods and services(current US$)”(https:/data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.CD).Note:Sales by businesses only.*for Austria,France,Poland,and Slovenia,EDI sales are not available broken down based on whether the customer is located domestically or a

220、broad;as such the domestic/abroad breakdown reflects the value of“web sales”only.All other countries include both EDI-type and web sales.Business e-commerce export and total export figures are based on different data sources,this presentation relies on the assumption that the resulting statistics ca

221、n be treated as mutually compatible.Among countries(shown in Figure 4)which have published either a direct value for cross-border e-commerce sales by businesses,or a percentage share that can be applied to the published total value of e-commerce,cross-border sales comprise 21 per cent of e-commerce

222、revenue on average(web sales for EU countries other than Spain).This reaches 33 per cent(of web sales)in Austria,and almost 50 per cent(of web sales)in Slovenia.France has the lowest international share,at 8 per cent(of web sales)while in Malaysia and Thailand,exports account for 12-13 per cent of e

223、-commerce sales.For the countries shown(excluding the EU countries other than Spain),e-commerce sales abroad equate to around 10 per cent of total goods and services exports on average.This ranges from 5 per cent in Thailand and 8 per cent in Malaysia to 18 per cent in the United Kingdom.If exports

224、comprise a similar portion of EDI-type sales in the other EU countries as in Spain around 17 per cent on average since 2019 the export share of cross-border e-commerce sales in those countries could be between 5 and 12 percentage points higher than when only web sales are accounted for.For example,i

225、n France,cross-border web sales accounted for 3 per cent of exports of goods and services in 2020 but including EDI-type sales could take the share to 15 per cent.That these differences could be so large,illustrates the importance of harmonising the measures available across countries.MEASURING THE

226、VALUE OF E-COMMERCE26Figure 5 presents the evolution of e-commerce sales abroad(web sales abroad for EU countries other than Spain),as a percentage of total goods and services exports.In the countries for which time-series are available,the e-commerce share of exports was not uniformly increasing ov

227、er time,even prior to the pandemic disruption of 2020 onward.Both Spain and Thailand experienced a marked decline in the share from 2017 to 2018 for example,in both cases the monetary value of e-commerce exports fell while total goods and services exports continued to grow(in current prices).In Thai

228、land,although the overall value of e-commerce sales increased throughout the period,the cross-border share declined from 23 per cent in 2017 to around 9 per cent in 2018 and 2019.Reasons given for this include“partly because more payment gateway businesses from other countries such as Alipay and WeC

229、hat Pay entered Thai market”and“the continual increase of foreign tourists especially Chinese tourists that come to visit Thailand also contributes to the cutback of international trade.In addition,the availability of ePayment systems at tourist destinations also encourages e-commerce operators to f

230、ocus on domestic sales rather than international sales”(Electronic Transactions Development Agency,2019).It is,however,important to recall from Section 2 that changes between periods can be driven by factors related to measurement as well as“real-world”movements.This is especially the case for sub-i

231、tems such as e-commerce exports which often involve only a minority of the businesses sampled,and for which value estimates can be particularly impacted by changes in the sample or responses received.Identifying ways to manage these challenges would be beneficial in helping to broaden the availabili

232、ty of statistics on e-commerce exports.Figure 5.E-commerce exports,2015-2021Percentage of total goods and services exports0%4%8%12%16%20%200021%of goods and services exportsUnited KingdomSpainCanadaMalaysiaThailandAustria*Slovenia*Poland*France*Source:UNCTAD based on national s

233、ources and World Bank“Exports of goods and services(current US$)”(https:/data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.CD).Note:Exports by businesses only.*“web services”only,excludes EDI-type export sales.Business e-commerce export and total export figures are based on different data sources,this presen

234、tation relies on the assumption that the resulting statistics can be treated as mutually compatible.HOW IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?27Business cross border e-commerce sales have tended to contribute positively to export growth in Canada,Malaysia,Spain,and Thailand(Figure 6),with various examples of stron

235、g positive contributions(e.g.,contributing over a third of total export growth)and of e-commerce exports growing despite an overall downturn in exports.Nevertheless,there is considerable variation in the contribution of e-commerce exports between countries and especially between periods.More widely

236、available,and statistically harmonised,figures are needed to allow analysis of the relationship between e-commerce and exports to draw general conclusions.Figure 6.E-commerce exports by businesses,contribution to change in total goods and services exports,selected countries,2015-2021-25-20-15-10-505

237、101520-20020202021CanadaMalaysiaSpain Thailand%change/contribution in percentage pointsContribution:e-commerce exportsContribution:other exports%change all exportsSource:UNCTAD based on national sources and World Bank“Exports of goods

238、and services(current US$)”(https:/data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.CD).Note:Exports by businesses only.Contributions,in percentage points,of business e-commerce exports and other exports to the percentage change in total exports of goods and services.Figures represent annual changes except f

239、or Canada and Malaysia,where the change is calculated over the interval shown.Business e-commerce export and total export figures are based on different data sources,this presentation relies on the assumption that the resulting statistics can be treated as mutually compatible.The delineation between

240、 sales to domestic customers and those abroad is collected in much the same way as other breakdowns highlighted in Section 3.3.Responding businesses are asked to report a total value for their e-commerce sales(as a monetary value or a percentage of turnover),and most commonly to provide percentage s

241、hares for the domestic and abroad components with these two summing to 100 per cent.The Value of E-commerce Survey in Thailand(Electronic Transactions Development Agency,2019)offers an instructive example of this approach:MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE28Several countries,including Canada and the

242、United Kingdom(see Annex 4),go further by asking respondents about the value of e-commerce sales to customers in different countries or regions.In the Canadian Survey of Digital Technology and Internet Use,sales to customers abroad can be calculated by aggregating responses to items b-i,representing

243、 sales to various individual countries and regions(Box 4).Further examples of collecting more detail on customer locations are presented in Annexes 4 and 5.Box 4.Cross-border e-commerce in the Canadian Survey of Digital Technology and Internet Use 2021Source:Survey of Digital Technology And Internet

244、 Use 2021 questionnaire available at https:/www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3Instr.pl?Function=assembleInstr&Item_Id=1317562&TET=0 Respondents may face difficulties in identifying where their customers are located.Indeed,results from the aforementioned survey by Statistics Canada show that 5.5 per cent of

245、 businesses did not know whether their customers were located in Canada or outside.This issue is related to firm size,with 9 per cent of medium-sized enterprises(by employment)and 12 per cent of large enterprises being unable to identify customer locations,whereas only 4 per cent of small enterprise

246、s reported this issue perhaps because smaller enterprises are more likely to have personal relationships with their customers.The extent of this difficulty may also depend on what products the company sells via e-commerce.Shipping goods to a location abroad is likely to provide a reasonably reliable

247、 indication of cross-border e-commerce.For services,especially digitally deliverable services(i.e.,those that can be delivered via computer networks),identifying customer location may be more difficult.Box 5 sets out the relationship between e-commerce(digital ordering)and digital delivery within th

248、e framework for measuring digital trade.Nevertheless,the Canadian findings suggest that the strong majority of firms are able to provide the relevant information.Furthermore,the same challenges are encountered more generally in measuring trade.The approaches and mitigation measures used in trade sou

249、rces might therefore provide a useful foundation for developing statistical guidelines on measuring cross-border e-commerce.HOW IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?29Box 5.Cross-border e-commerce in the framework for measuring Digital TradeThe Handbook on Measuring Digital Trade(OECD-WTO-IMF-UNCTAD,forthcoming)s

250、ets out definitions and a conceptual framework for measuring digital trade,along with a wide range of related country experiences using various data sources.Digital trade is comprised of two constituent concepts:digitally ordered trade,and digitally delivered trade(Box Figure 1).Box Figure 1.Digital

251、 trade and e-commerce:measurement concepts and definitionsConceptual overlapInternational transactions that are both digitally ordered and digitally delivered“All international trade transactions that are delivered remotely over computer networks”Digitally ordered trade=International e-commerceDigit

252、ally delivered tradeE-commercedefinition for measurement purposes(OECD,2009)“The sale or purchase of a good or service,conducted over computer networks by methods specifically designed for the purpose of receiving or placing orders”“The international sale or purchase of a good or service,conducted o

253、ver computer networks by methods specifically designed for the purpose of receiving or placing orders”Digital TradeOECD-WTO-IMF-UNCTAD Handbook on Measuring Digital Trade“all international trade that is digitally ordered and/or digitally delivered”Domestic e-commerce“The domestic sale or purchase of

254、 a good or service,conducted over computer networks by methods specifically designed for the purpose of receiving or placing orders”WTO work program on electronic commerce(1998)“the production,distribution,marketing,sale or delivery of goods and services by electronic means”Source:OECD-WTO-IMF-UNCTA

255、D Handbook on Measuring Digital Trade(forthcoming).Note:The statistical definitions of e-commerce and digital trade are fully compatible with the WTO definition of the Work Program on electronic commerce.In addition to cross-border e-commerce,the WTO work program also covers the domestic e-commerce

256、activities of foreign owned or controlled service suppliers.The definition of digital trade given in this Handbook is also compatible with the description of e-commerce in BPM6(“e-commerce is a method of ordering or delivering products at least partly by electronic means,such as through the Internet

257、 or other computer mediated networks”)(IMF,2009).The definition of digitally ordered trade is aligned with the 2009 definition of e-commerce transactions for statistical measurement purposes(OECD,2011),though with the focus being on international transactions.For this reason,efforts to measure the v

258、alue of e-commerce sales,and to further distinguish cross-border e-commerce,are a direct input to measuring digital trade.Various items in the reporting template for digital trade(Box Figure 2)can be measured using ICT usage/e-commerce surveys,with business cross-border e-commerce sales and purchase

259、s typically being the biggest components of digitally ordered trade.MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE30Given the conceptual overlap illustrated above,total digital trade cannot simply be calculated by summing digitally ordered trade and digitally delivered trade;it is necessary to subtract the value

260、 of transactions that were both digitally ordered and digitally delivered to avoid double counting.Canada,Finland,and the United Kingdom have demonstrated that business ICT/e-commerce surveys can be used to collect information on the products being sold(goods,digitally delivered services,or other se

261、rvices)and this has the potential to be used to derive the relevant adjustment.In Canada,digitally delivered services comprise just under 20 per cent of total e-commerce sales by businesses(Statistics Canada,2022).Where other sources are used to estimate the monetary value of e-commerce transactions

262、,these can be similarly adapted to identify cross-border sales.Box Figure 2.Reporting template for digital trade Total exports Total imports 1Total Digital Trade 2+3 minus 4 2Digitally ordered trade 2.1+2.2 2.1Goods 2.1.a of which:via DIPs 2.2Services 2.2.a of which:via DIPs 3Digitally delivered tra

263、de 3.a of which:via DIPs 4Digitally ordered and digitally delivered trade 4.aof which:digital intermediation services Addendum items A.1Digital trade in services 2.2+3 minus 4 A.2Digitally deliverable services 3 Source:OECD-WTO-IMF-UNCTAD Handbook on Measuring Digital Trade(forthcoming).Note:Transac

264、tions should be broken down by relevant product groupings(EBOPS 2010 for services and,for example,HS or CPC for goods).HOW IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?31In sum,this subsection has set out the analytical and policy relevance of measuring crossborder e-commerce to understand the extent to which e-commerce

265、is facilitating exports and economic growth,and thereby has the potential to contribute to economic development.Crossborder e-commerce is also an important component of measures of digital trade.This is both in terms of exports and imports.Although the main focus in this analysis is on measuring exp

266、orts it should not be forgotten that measures of e-commerce imports are also needed to understand the relationship between digital trade,economic growth,and development.Few countries have published statistics on the value of cross-border e-commerce(or details allowing it to be derived).Furthermore,a

267、lthough the general approach used is to collect this as a breakdown of the total value of e-commerce sales,there are differences in implementation across countries.This suggests the need for international discussion and agreement over how cross-border e-commerce should be measured and how compilatio

268、n issues can be managed.This could provide a basis for statistical guidelines to support countries in delineating cross-border sales from total e-commerce and thereby contribute to the wider availability of statistics on digitally ordered trade.3.5.Survey types,coverage,and methodsThere is also vari

269、ation in the survey vehicles and methods used to collect information on e-commerce in different economies.Among the 21 economies that have published estimates of the value of e-commerce sales(Figure 1),17 collected this information using surveys of e-commerce and/or ICT usage in business,or similarl

270、y specific surveys(for example,Australias figures come from a“business characteristics survey”focused on innovation activities and ICT usage).MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE32In EU countries,annual business ICT surveys are mandated by law,and many of the other EU partner and OECD countries conduct

271、 surveys either annually or biennially.Additionally,business ICT usage surveys are the stated source in 27 of the roughly 50 economies that have submitted statistics for inclusion in the UNCTAD core indicators on ICT use in business database since 2012.In total,it is estimated that nearly 80 economi

272、es have conducted such a survey in the period since 2012(Figure 7),with the majority of these recurring on an annual basis.Figure 7.Sources for measuring business e-commerce020406080Business ICT/e-commerce survey(conducted at least once since 2012)Business ICT/e-commerce survey collected information

273、 one-commerce(e.g.,uptake)Business ICT/e-commerce survey collected e-commercevalue($or%)Published monetary value of e-commerce($)Published value of cross-border e-commerce($or%)Collected value of digitally delivered e-commerce(conceptual overlap in digital trade)Number of economiesEU collectionOther

274、s in OECD collectionOther UNCTAD membersBased on other business surveysSource:UNCTAD based on national sources,Eurostat Digital Economy and Society Indicators Database,OECD ICT Access and Usage by Businesses database,UNCTAD core indicators on ICT use in business database.Note:The EU collection cover

275、s EU countries as well as Albania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Iceland,Montenegro,North Macedonia,Norway,Serbia,and Trkiye(35 countries in total);these countries generally follow the Eurostat model survey on e-commerce and ICT usage in business.“Others in OECD collection”comprises non-EU OECD members Aust

276、ralia,Canada,Colombia,Israel,Japan,Korea,Mexico,New Zealand,Switzerland,and the United Kingdom,as well as Brazil,which participates in the annual OECD collection.“Other UNCTAD members”refers to all other economies;these have been identified as performing business ICT usage surveys based on source in

277、formation provided to UNCTAD when submitting statistics for inclusion in the database of core indicators on ICT usage in business or otherwise from national publications.Several countries have published e-commerce value figures based on other business surveys:Japan,Singapore,Philippines,and the Unit

278、ed States.Business ICT usage surveys have long provided a platform for investigating e-commerce;responses confirming whether(or not)businesses make sales via e-commerce are used widely to compute the“proportion of businesses receiving orders over the Internet”,one of the core indicators of the Partn

279、ership on Measuring ICT for Development(UNCTAD,2021a).Because of this,and because such surveys often collect the business total revenue,they can provide a natural basis for further questions investigating the value of e-commerce sales.HOW IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?33Nevertheless,four of the series pres

280、ented in Figure 1 are derived from other survey sources.Japan takes a unique approach,conducting“Market research on e-commerce”(see Box 6).Meanwhile,the figures for Singapore are collected through the Annual(services)Industry Survey(and for this reason are only representative of services industries)

281、.In the United States,the Services Annual Survey is one of four annual sectoral surveys the others covering manufacturing,retail trades,and wholesale trades which collectively give a figure for e-commerce sales across most businesses.The Philippines conducted a biennial“Survey on Information and Com

282、munication Technology”up until 2017 and this included questions on both the value of e-commerce sales and the split between sales to domestic and overseas customers.The survey form is available online and key details from it are included in this report.10 However,the results arising from those speci

283、fic questions do not appear to have been published and the series in Figure 1 instead comes from the“Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry”,a general business activity survey(for which the survey form does not appear to be available online).More generally,a significant minority of the ec

284、onomies which have submitted the indicator“Proportion of businesses receiving orders over the Internet”for inclusion the UNCTAD core indicators on ICT use in business database have measured this using other business surveys,with general surveys of business activity being the most common alternative

285、survey vehicle.Such surveys typically collect a wide range of information about businesses activities and,in particular,a wider range of financial information,of which the value of e-commerce sales is one example.Often these surveys have the largest sample size of all business surveys in a given eco

286、nomy.This suggests that other surveys might also offer a viable platform to measure the value of cross-border e-commerce and any statistical guidance developed should consider this alongside surveys of business ICT usage/e-commerce.Regardless of the precise surveys and methods used,there are differe

287、nces in survey coverage that are likely to impact comparability across economies.Most notably,this relates to the industries and firm sizes covered,as shown in Figure 8.There is considerable variation in the industries covered by these measures of the value of business e-commerce.In Malaysia,the Sur

288、vey on Usage of ICT and e-commerce by Establishment“encompasses all economic sectors in Malaysia classified under the Malaysia Standard Industrial Classification(MSIC)”.11 At the other end of the scale,the United Kingdom and Thailand,which have among the most extensive surveys in terms of details co

289、llected,are more narrowly focused in terms of the industries targeted.The figures published by Singapore cover only service industries.Meanwhile,EU countries adopt a relatively limited scope of coverage,excluding Arts,entertainment,and recreation,Financial and Insurance services,Health and Education

290、 Services.Spain further excludes food and beverage service activities from statistics published on e-commerce.10.Survey on Information and Communication Technology available at https:/psa.gov.ph/content/survey-information-and-communication-technology-sict11.Survey on Usage of ICT and e-Commerce by E

291、stablishment available at www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/cone&menu_id=ZmpBKzc4T2pFTXVNUW1NcHRFMHhGQT09MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE34The extent to which more limited coverage of industries will reduce the exhaustiveness of estimates of e-commerce by businesses in not clear.The industry se

292、ctions covered by the EU and United Kingdom surveys comprised 98 per cent of total e-commerce sales by businesses in China(2020)and the Philippines(2017).However,the total for China does not include section K finance and insurance,and the series for the Philippines only shows e-commerce sales as hav

293、ing been recorded in industry sections A(agriculture,forestry and fishing),P(education),and R(arts,entertainment and recreation),not in other industry sections not covered in the EU and United Kingdom surveys.In considering industry coverage it should be noted that COVID-19 pandemic is likely to hav

294、e vastly increased the uptake of e-commerce across industries in many economies.For example,the latest statistics available from Canada show that the share of businesses receiving orders over the Internet increased from a quarter in 2019(before the pandemic),to one third in 2021.By 2021,over half of

295、 educational services firms in Canada were receiving orders online,while the share for Arts,entertainment and recreation reached nearly 60 per cent.In Finance and insurance,the share of firms making sales online increased from 22 per cent in 2019 to 26 per cent in 2021 and the share in Healthcare an

296、d social assistance increased slightly,to 10 per cent.Most strikingly,the portion of firms in Mining,quarrying,and oil and gas extraction which sell online almost doubled,to 15 per cent in 2021.Overall,these additional industries covered in the Canadian survey,compared to those in the EU countries a

297、nd United Kingdom,account for around 15 per cent of total gross sales conducted over the Internet by businesses,or CA$50 billion(US$40 billion)(Statistics Canada,2022).HOW IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?35Figure 8.Business coverage of e-commerce value measuresDarker shading indicates more complete coverage

298、of classes within each industry sectionIndustry sections(ISIC Rev.4)MalaysiaPhilippinesIndonesiaAustraliaCanadaChinaHong Kong,ChinaMexicoUnited StatesEU countries(excl Spain)SingaporeUnited KingdomSpainThailandG-Wholesale and retail trade;repair of motor vehicles111H-Transportation and st

299、orage111J-Information and communication111I-Accommodation and food service activities10,51C-Manufacturing111L-Real estate activities110N-Administrative and support service activities11110,75111111110M-Professional,scientific and technical activi

300、ties0,7510D-Electricity,gas,steam,air conditioning110F-Construction11110,75111010110E-Water,sewerage,waste management&remediation110R-Arts,entertainment,and recreation001Q-Human health and social work000S-Other service activities1100,75111010,25

301、10,250,251P-Education000K-Financial and insurance1110,75111100000,5B-Mining and quarrying000A-Agriculture,forestry,fishing00O-Public administration and defense;compulsory social security00Firm sizeFirms with 10+persons employedFirms with 10 persons employe

302、d5+Financial thresholdsaaSource:UNCTAD based on national sources.Notes:Countries may vary in the inclusion or exclusion of non-employer firms(i.e.firms with zero persons employed).Australia:Excludes employing businesses with 10 emplotment).Singapore:individual self-employed persons who are not regis

303、tered with the Accounting&Corporate Regulatory Authority(ACRA),such as taxi drivers,hawkers and stall-holders,independent artistes are excluded.MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE36With respect to firm size,the main point of variation relates to the coverage of enterprises with fewer than 10 persons e

304、mployed(commonly referred to as“microenterprises”).In one third of the economies shown these are not covered at all,while in Canada coverage starts at five persons employed.Although e-commerce tends to be more widely adopted among larger businesses,it is increasingly important as a basis on which in

305、dividuals can create small businesses(e.g.,selling handmade items online).In the United Kingdom,e-commerce by firms with 0-9 employees was worth GB24 billion(US$31 billion)in 2019,around 3.5 per cent of the total.Microenterprises accounted for 6.4 per cent of sales made via websites and apps(i.e.,ex

306、cluding EDI sales)and 8 per cent of B2C sales.Most of the economies examined in this analysis use industry and firm employment as variables for a stratified sample design,though several complement these with other variables.For example,in France,strata are determined by industry,employment,and turno

307、ver.12 There is variation also in other aspects of survey methodology including:Whether the sample is drawn from a business register or other list(such as a list of known e-commerce operators)Sample size Legislative framework,including whether response is mandatory Survey modes used(online or postal

308、 surveys,telephone or face-to-face interviews,etc.)Processing including follow-up of unusual responses,treatment of non-response,etc.Variation in business survey methods and design is not uncommon,and certainly not limited to e-commerce measurement.Nevertheless,it has to be acknowledged that these d

309、ifferences may impact the results found and therefore the ability to make international comparisons.In particular,Japan takes a markedly different approach to others presented here,relying primarily on an analysis of publicly available information from various sources,alongside limited interviews wi

310、th businesses and industry bodies(see Box 6).12.Methodology of the survey on information and communication technologies in business(ICT)available(in English and French)at https:/www.insee.fr/en/metadonnees/source/operation/s1555/documentation-methodologiqueHOW IS E-COMMERCE MEASURED?37Box 6.Japan“Ma

311、rket research on e-commerce”Box Figure 3.Cross-border e-commerce market size between Japan,the United States and ChinaArrows indicate cross-border e-commerce flowsSince 2005,the Ministry of Econ-omy,Trade,and Industry(METI),Japan has worked with private sector research partners to conduct“Market res

312、earch on e-commerce”.Key outputs arising from this include estimates of the“scale of the domestic e-commerce market”covering B2B and B2C transactions from 2013 onward(i.e.,a measure of“business e-commerce”,pre-sented in Figure 1).In addition,the report 13 includes figures on bilateral e-commerce flo

313、ws between Japan and its two main trading partners the United States and China(Box Figure 3).Source:reproduced from(METI,2021).Importantly,these statistics are not based solely on a business ICT usage/e-commerce survey.The first part of the approach consists of a“public information survey”that colle

314、cts and analyses“newspapers,magazines,industry journals,government statistics and reports,various papers,research company reports,commercial database information,business and media website information,etc.in Japan,the U.S.and China”14.The second element informing the estimation is“business surveys a

315、nd interviews”with operators and industry associations“developing”domestic and cross-border e-commerce”.It should be noted that these are at a“general”level and do not comprise detailed questions requiring specific responses.In China and the United States,the targets are“Businesses developing cross-

316、border e-commerce”which include“Japanese businesses that have established local subsidiaries in the US or China and are conducting e-commerce targeting consumers in those countries”and“US or Chinese businesses that are conducting e-commerce targeting consumers outside their own country”14.As subsidi

317、aries of Japanese firms located in the US and China are included,this implies a broader scope of export flows than if only domestic firms were covered.At the same time,though,clearly this only gives a partial view of Japans cross-border e-commerce.For this reason,Japan is not included in the analysi

318、s in Section 5.13.https:/www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2022/0812_002.html(in English)14.https:/www.meti.go.jp/press/2022/08/20220812005/20220812005-h.pdf (in Japanese,translated using Google Translate and DeepL).MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE38This section has shown that business ICT and/or e-comm

319、erce surveys are the most common source for the e-commerce value estimates that have been published by National Statistical Organisations.Furthermore,a considerable portion of those countries with such surveys have collected information on the monetary value of e-commerce sales,even if they have not

320、 taken the steps of deriving and publishing experimental estimates.Nevertheless,other business surveys can also be used to gather information on the value of e-commerce,and these represent a significant minority of the cases presented.Any statistical guidance developed to support countries in measur

321、ing e-commerce must account for these differences while also looking to encourage international comparability.Beyond the data sources used,differences in the industries and sizes of the firms covered by these sources may also affect the comprehensiveness of e-commerce statistics,impacting their usef

322、ulness as a basis for policymaking as well as the ability to make comparisons across countries.Statistical guidelines could assess the need for harmonisation as well as seeking to establish criteria for prioritising industries and firm size bands for coverage in measures of the value of e-commerce.3

323、94.ConclusionsThis analysis provides a description of the current situation regarding measures of the value of e-commerce,including cross-border e-commerce,for a number of economies for which statistics are available.While the sample may not be exhaustive,it is broadly representative to give an over

324、all view of measurement practices.The focus is on business e-commerce which is the main component of e-commerce.There is a considerable variety of statistics available from various economies,but they also exhibit considerable variation in terms of definitions,approaches to e-commerce value,survey qu

325、estions,data sources,methods,and scopes underpinning them.Furthermore,this analysis illustrates that,in the vast majority of economies,there are simply no national statistics on the value of e-commerce.Moreover,so far,primarily statistics on e-commerce sales are available,which implies that cross-bo

326、rder e-commerce statistics mainly refer to exports and rarely to imports.Measuring e-commerce is a prerequisite for truly understanding its economic role and contribution to GDP,employment,and development,as well as for evidence-based policymaking.For development purposes,it is important to know whe

327、ther e-commerce complements or just replaces offline-commerce.Beyond estimating total e-commerce,the distinction between domestic and cross-border e-commerce would allow the contribution of e-commerce to international trade to be understood.In this context,it is important to understand to what exten

328、t e-commerce contributes to exports and imports,essentially whether the cross-border(trade)balance is positive.When e-commerce drives a greater increase in imports than of exports,it may not contribute positively to economic development.There is a need to take action to support the development of ro

329、bust,exhaustive,and internationally comparable statistics on the value of e-commerce across countries including both developed and developing countries.A logical next step would be to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches described in this analysis and consider the pot

330、ential for standard measures.This could then lead to developing appropriate statistical guidelines to measure e-commerce.Such an effort would necessarily rely on the experience and expertise of the economies covered in this analysis,and others interested in contributing to guidelines that are releva

331、nt and useful for all.Within its mandate“to advance cooperation on measuring e-commerce and the digital economy and enhance the availability,quality,comparability,usability,and relevance of statistics concerning e-commerce and the digital economy”the WG-ECDE is well placed to take up this challenge.

332、To that end,at its third meeting held on 28-29 November 2022,the Working Group resolved to recommend that UNCTAD should continue working towards developing statistical guidelines on measuring the value of e-commerce(including cross-border e-commerce);and that a task group of interested Working Group

333、 participants should be established to guide,oversee,and contribute to the development of the necessary measurement standards and guidelines.The information and analysis contained in this report are intended to serve as an input to the work of this task group.MEASURING THE VALUE OF E-COMMERCE40Annex 1.National sources of business e-commerce sales figuresEconomySource nameLink(s)Australia“Summary o