Online-Only Art Auctions Overwhelmingly Succeed in 2025
2April 30, 2026
Auction houses and galleries alike spend acres of time thinking about how to appeal to young collectors, and according to a new report fromArtnet, innovative thinking is paying off: online-onlyauctionsattributed to Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Phillips, Bonhams, and Artnet Auctions raked in $423.9 million in 2025, an 8% increase from 2024. The average price of artworks sold at online auctions also increased by 8.6% to reach $14,309.
Some online auctions have thrived off of high degrees of specificity – the online sales platform Fair Warning, for instance,developed one salearound a single artwork: Andy Warhol’s1974 rendering of Brigitte Bardot.
Most auction houses rushed to develop their online presences when the pandemic hit, making sales comparisons between that pre-2020 and now difficult. Sales in 2025 were 270% higher than they were in 2019, the Artnet report said. Additionally, Christie’s found that 63% of their new buyers make their first purchase online in 2025, where the average price point sits at $22,700.
Overall, a report jointly authored by Art Basel and UBS found the global art market bounced back “modestly” in 2025 after two years of decline, achieving approximately $59.6 billion in sales in total.