Open trading account 
Sales in the Asian-Pacific region is expected to rise by nearly 25% to $390 bln. The penetration of cell phones helps facilitate this.
Currently, internet-based sales in North America are greater, projected to be almost $420 bln this year, a more modest, but still healthy 12.5% increase. eMarketer projects the Asian-Pacific region to surpass North American sales next year.
Nevertheless, the US is projected continue to have the most internet-based sales even in 2016, but the cap with China is expected to be halved from the current $214 bln.
Internet sales are expected to rise 14% in Western Europe this year to $291.5 bln. The UK alone accounts for a full third of those at $99 bln, which is projected to be more than Germany and France together. Emarketer expects internet sales in the US to continue to outpace Western Europe and the $128 bln gap this year grows to almost $200 bln over the next three years.
Internet-based sales require certain institutional capacity, including consumer credit, a reliable transportation system and social trust. It is not just about the penetration of computers and cell phones, which are necessary but insufficient for internet sales.
