E-commerce Share of Retail Sales Rises to Record High
ThinkstockRetail e-commerce sales in the U.S. reached a new high of 6.4% of all retail sales in the second quarter of 2014 according to the U.S.Census Bureau. That is an increase of 4.9% sequentially and a hike of 15.3% year-over-year.…
Retail e-commerce sales in the U.S. reached a new high of 6.4% of all retail sales in the second quarter of 2014 according to the U.S.Census Bureau. That is an increase of 4.9% sequentially and a hike of 15.3% year-over-year. The totals are adjusted for seasonal variation, but not price changes. The e-commerce adjusted total was $75 billion.
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.
ALSO READ: 11 Countries Near Bankruptcy
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
