Online art market - statistics & facts

The global online art market consists of buyers and sellers trading via the internet in works of art, antiques, digital artworks, and collectibles that are commonly associated with the arts and culture sector. While online transactions represented around a tenth of the global art market value prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this changed drastically in 2020, as the measures introduced during the health crisis boosted digital sales. This positive trend continued in 2021, a year marked by a huge interest in crypto art and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In 2022, however, sales of the online art and antiques market slowed down, dropping by 17 percent over the previous year. Despite the decline, the value of online art transactions remained significantly higher than in pre-pandemic years, totaling around 11 billion U.S. dollars.

A new era for online auctions

As most auctions and art fairs worldwide could not take place in person with the onset of the health crisis, auction houses strengthened their digital departments, promoting online sales and streaming events. It then comes as no surprise that the combined number of online-only auctions by Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips nearly tripled in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019, peaking at over 600. Even though this figure decreased gradually in the following two years, the online sales value generated by Christie’s and Sotheby’s – the two leading auction houses worldwide – stayed way above pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, online sales of Christie’s amounted to over 360 million U.S. dollars, a fourfold increase compared to 2019. Meanwhile, online sales of Sotheby’s reached just under 600 million U.S. dollars in 2022, the second-highest figure reported by the company.

The NFT market after the hype

The NFT craze hit the news when, in March 2021, Christie’s sold a digital collage by American artist Beeple for the staggering price of 69.3 million U.S. dollars, turning it into the most expensive non-fungible token sold to date. NFTs are unique digital commodities stored in blockchain. They are used in the art market to prove the authenticity of digital works of art, as a file that is turned into an NFT becomes a unique asset. In this sense, NFT-based artworks can be sold as original pieces, even if their copies are shared online. In 2022, the combined sales value of art and collectibles NFTs surpassed 13 billion U.S. dollars, growing by 15 percent year-on-year. The rise, though, was mainly driven by NFT collectibles, as sales of art-related NFTs nearly halved over the same period. In this respect, the monthly NFT sales value in the art segment experienced an overall decreasing trend in 2022.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Aug 31, 2023

Key insights

Global art market value
67.8bn USD
Online sales of the global art market
11bn USD
Share of art dealers' sales from online-only galleries
12%
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Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Total online sales of the art and antiques market worldwide from 2013 to 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Art & Antiques

Global online sales of the art and antiques market 2013-2022

Total number of sales involving a non-fungible token (NFT) in the art segment worldwide over the previous 30 days from April 15, 2021 to November 15, 2023, by type

Art & Antiques

NFT sales in the art segment worldwide in the last 30 days November 2023, by type

Total value of sales involving a non-fungible token (NFT) in the art segment worldwide over the previous 30 days from April 15, 2021 to November 15, 2023 (in 1,000 U.S. dollars)

Art & Antiques

NFT sales value in the art segment worldwide in the last 30 days November 2023

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