The report also spotlights a new study by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, that gauges the commercial impact of the internet, in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the first .com domain name registration. It estimates that the annual global economic benefits of the commercial Internet equals $1.5 trillion — a figure that eclipses the global sales of medicine, investment in renewable energy, and government investment in R&D, combined.ITIF also estimates that, assuming ecommerce continues to grow just half as fast as it grew between 2005 and 2010, then by 2020, it will add $3.8 trillion to the global economy.
Although online commerce is becoming commonplace worldwide, it’s still more popular in some countries than others.In assessing 30 nations, ITIF found Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States lead the rest of the world in shopping, selling, and doing business online.