The art market has typically been behind other markets in terms of innovation and accepting the new digital age as the primary means of buying and selling. That is not to say that there hasn’t been a slight, steady increase of online sales of art over the past decade, leading up to a 7.5% of art market transactions happening online in 2019. As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many markets to re-evaluate business models and migrate to a more digitized community, forcing the art market to finally take advantage of this online shift.
Pre-COVID, the majority of art sales happened in person. Sales at art fairs accounted for 43% of all sales made by art dealers and the majority (if not all) of sales at auction happened in person as online auctions were not developed until 2020. With the cancellation of fairs and auctions in 2020, the art market was forced to innovate and pivot to e-commerce through methods including online viewing rooms (OVRs), live online auctions, online fairs and exhibitions, and online stores/galleries. It was proven that the art market took to the digital shift well as The online art market in 2020, accounted for 15.8% of all art sales, up from 7.5% in 2019.
Although there are many strengths, I’ll begin by naming a few challenges presented by the online shift. Weak buyer confidence has been a worry of many online art dealers - Customers worry about shipping/packaging, insurance, and inability to view the artwork in person to prove condition, to name a few. However, as online buying becomes more prevalent, it appears that, specifically in the dealers of high end art, that buyers are gaining confidence in online sales, especially for repeat customers. Related to buyer confidence, one could also argue that because of the ease of entry into the online art market, that the market is becoming oversaturated. This creates hesitancy to trust new sellers (and even buyers) online, considering the growing presence of cyber crime.
This previously stated ease of entry has brought a new market of young buyers who previously saw the art market as intimidating and stiff. Most new buyers of art in the past few years have purchased their first piece of art online - as they are able to browse, click, and purchase in peace without intimidating conversations with dealers. The online market also allows for more players to sell artwork, offers more collaboration between dealers, galleries, and museums, and allows for ease of access for art buyers offering them the ability to purchase online without dealing with travel costs.
With the continued restrictions through 2021, many art dealers continued their digital presence while returning back to traditional methods such as art fairs and meeting in person. Dealers are spending more money on their IT department and digital advertising to reach new audiences, while using OVR’s to maintain relationships with established customers. The past two years have proven that the online art market is here to stay as art dealers plan to continue, and increase, their digital presence. However, the majority of art collectors still prefer to buy in-person, causing dealers to be optimistic about returning to traditional methods such as art fairs and meeting in person over the coming years.
