E-commerce Share of Retail Sales Rises to Record High

On an unadjusted basis, e-commerce sales totaled 5.9% of all retail sales in the second quarter, up 4.8% sequentially and 15.9% year-over-year. The unadjusted total came to $70.1 billion.

Retail sales rose just 2.3% sequentially on an adjusted basis, so the 4.9% growth in e-commerce sales was more than double the growth in total sales. Year-over-year, e-commerce sales rose 15.7% compared with a rise of just 4.4% in total retail sales.

On an unadjusted basis e-commerce sales rose 4.8% while total sales rose 10.9% sequentially. On a year-over-year basis, though, e-commerce sales rose 15.9% compared with a 4.8% rise in total sales.

While the growth rates clearly favor clicks over bricks, it’s well to remember that seasonally adjusted second-quarter total retail sales came to $1.17 trillion compared with $75 billion in e-commerce sales.

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