Q3 is well behind us with the last few data points on how consumers spent their time, at least from June through September, and at least in terms of how much they spent online. .
of census bureau of Ministry of Commerce Announced seasonally adjusted on Friday (November 17th) e-commerce sales was $284.1 billion, an increase of 2.3% sequentially. Total retail sales in the third quarter were estimated at $1.825 trillion, an increase of 1.5% from the same period. E-commerce sales were 15.6% of total retail sales.
We’re playing a little bit of a catch-up, and e-commerce as a percentage of total sales is up slightly from 15.5% in the second quarter and 14.8% in the third quarter of last year. ratio.
PYMNTS Intelligence examined the continued evolution of e-commerce’s share of retail sales and its “projected” share beyond 2020 if the pandemic had not significantly impacted commerce itself. That gap is currently about 0.5%.
The unusual shift, which peaked in the darkest days of the pandemic when online sales accounted for 16.5% of total sales, far exceeded the expected low-double-digit contribution.
The gap is narrowing
But if that gap is narrowing, he argues, e-commerce sales are plateauing, especially as shoppers return to brick-and-mortar channels to buy items like groceries. (October statistics show retail sales are up).
The overall “pie” for the third quarter grew by 1.5%, but the year-over-year trend has slowed. By this measure, overall retail spending slowed to his 2.3%, down from his 9.7% a year ago.
The big question is what happens next. Early signs regarding fourth-quarter spending are not optimistic. walmart He issued the warning as consumers feel the strain of taking on debt, paying off student loans and dealing with inflation.
Separately, October’s retail sales statistics fell for the first time in seven months, already putting some pressure on brick-and-mortar retail. Data from non-store retailers, a common measure of online sales, showed a 0.2% increase in October from September levels. However, non-store retail sales in September increased significantly by 1.4% compared to August.
The headwinds come as consumers face one of the most stressful times of the year, with holiday events, celebrations, and travel competing for a share of their wallets. Approximately 20% of consumers are looking to cut back on non-essential spending this holiday season, reducing the amount of time they spend on their devices and websites searching for the next item to add to their online shopping cart. may decrease.