E-commerce is a cornerstone of today’s digital economy, transforming how people, businesses, and governments engage in commercial transactions. By broadening market access and accelerating the diffusion of digital technologies, it plays a central role in driving growth, innovation, and trade. Reliable statistics are therefore essential to capture its scope and inform evidence-based policymaking. This report presents the 2025 revision of the OECD definition of e-commerce and its guidelines for interpretation. Building on the 2009 definition, the revision reaffirms core principles while refining guidance to ensure clarity, adaptability, and continued statistical relevance in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. The updated framework strengthens key concepts, provides guidance on digital intermediaries, subscriptions, and AI-assisted transactions, and clarifies the treatment of emerging ordering channels. In so doing, the 2025 revision aims to improve the measurement of e-commerce and support the OECD’s broader efforts to inform policy on digital transformation.
