The Artsper team has gathered the main takeaways from the 2018 Art Basel x UBS report. And here’s the clear conclusion: the online art market is expanding and the different players in the art world are finally recognising its important. Today, digital platforms are an integral part of the art market.

The Art Basel report estimates that online art sales have increased by 10% since 2016 and now represent 8% of global art market sales with a turnover of $ 5.4 billion. The online art market still has a lot of potential.

The galleries who responded to the survey noted that 45% of collectors who bought an artwork from then online online in 2017 were still new customers. For auction houses, the percentage was around 40%. The acquisition of new collectors via the internet and social media is extremely important because it allows the galleries to consolidate their collector base and expand their network internationally.

The online art market is now well established and the art world now has more confidence in it. In 2017, 65% of the galleries that responded to the survey indicated that they thought the number of online sales would increase in 2018. 16% of galleries also cited online sales as one of their top three priorities for the year, and 39% considered that online sales would be be an important priority for them in the next five years.

The report explained that third party online marketplaces (which connect artists / galleries with collectors) tend to have more monthly visitors than websites that belonged to individual galleries or auction houses. Being part of an online marketplace can therefore help galleries reach a wider audience.

Collectors are asking for more clear and precise information on pricing, provenance, the work’s condition, exhibitions and more. A study showed that the galleries that displayed their prices on online marketplaces received 3 times more interest from collectors compared to galleries who didn’t list a price.