U.S. E-Commerce Sales Gain Slows in Q4'23
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Online sales share of total increases slightly.
- Nonstore retail gain moderates.
- Furniture & clothing sales fall y/y.
Online retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.8% in Q4’23 following a 1.8% gain in Q3 and 2.2% growth in Q2, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales rose 7.5% y/y after a 7.7% 2022 gain, but remained below growth of 10.7% in 2021 and 45.6% in 2020 (Q4/Q4). E-Commerce sales, store and nonstore, accounted for 15.4% of total retail sales in 2023 after 14.7% in 2022.
The following details of the E-Commerce data by sector are not seasonally adjusted.
Sales of nonstore retailers, which accounted for 60.2% of total E-Commerce, rose 10.4% y/y last year following a 12.2% y/y rise in 2022. General merchandise store sales rose 11.4% y/y after a 0.8% gain in 2022. Food & beverage store sales improved 5.3% y/y after a 5.7% 2022 rise while sales of building materials & garden equipment rose 4.1% y/y, down from 8.6% growth in 2022. Electronics & appliance store sales rose 2.8% y/y following a 14.6% fall in 2022. Health & personal care store sales increased 1.1% y/y after a 0.8% 2022 decline.
Elsewhere, sales declined. Furniture & home furnishing sales fell 17.4% y/y after rising 1.5% in 2022 while sales of motor vehicles & parts declined 3.2% y/y after falling 3.7% in 2022. Clothing accessory store sales declined 0.9% y/y after a 5.7% rise in 2022 and sporting goods, hobby shop, musical instrument & book store sales weakened 4.2% y/y after rising 5.1% y/y in 2022. Miscellaneous sales, including gasoline stations, were off 1.5% y/y following an 8.4% rise in 2022.
E-commerce sales are goods and services ordered over an internet, mobile device (M-commerce), extranet, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) network, electronic mail, or other comparable online system. Payment may or may not be made online and sometimes sale & price are negotiated. Total sales estimates are adjusted for seasonal variation, but not for price changes. They are also adjusted for trading-day differences and moving holidays.
E-Commerce sales data can be found in Haver's USECON database.
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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