McAndrew: Online Art Sales Reach $3.2bn in 2012

Buried at the end of Georgina Adam’s important mini-essay on the growing threat to price transparency presented by online art sales which have taken the counter-productive stance of making their sales results opaque as a default. The Auction Room, which is selling Charles Saatchi’s hodings of Contemporary Middle Eastern artists, seems to be promoting the “offer-without-consequences” advantage.

Adam contacted Clare McAndrew for comments on the overall trend. But McAndrew, the economist responsible for TEFAF’s annual report on the art market, reveals this fascinating figure:

She estimates that online sales in 2012 were about $3.2bn – 1 per cent of the global ecommerce market – and says that the market could reach close to $11bn by 2017.

The Art Market: All Eyes on the Andy Index (Financial Times)