Driven by the epidemic, retail sales in US e-commerce channels soared by 50%

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Retail Indicators Division released its fourth-quarter 2021 Retail E-Commerce Sales Report on February 18, 2022.

The report represents the most granular e-commerce sales data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce and is the only sales view that fully distinguishes e-commerce from other types of non-store sales data , such as mail order . This is the first time that the report has become a standard data product; previously, similar reports were only released for experimental purposes .

The retail e-commerce quarterly sales report mentioned that total e-commerce sales in the United States in 2021 were US$870 billion, an increase of 14.2% compared to 2020 and 50.5 % compared to 2019. Among them, retail sales through e-commerce channels accounted for 13.2% of total retail sales in all channels in the United States in 2021 .

Of all categories sold through e-commerce channels over the past two years , the categories with the fastest sales growth have been home furnishings , building materials, and electronics, with cumulative growth of more than 200 % since 2019 .

Meanwhile, according to eMarketer , U.S. food and beverage e-commerce sales grew 170 % in 2021 , accounting for 9.6% of all grocery sales . Apparel is one of the few e-commerce categories that is growing at a slower rate than the industry average of 39%.

The global epidemic has accelerated the popularity of e-commerce in the U.S. market and gradually changed the way American consumers shop .

However, even with the accelerated catalysis of the epidemic , the US retail industry is still in the early stages of the digitalization process , and its e-commerce channel retail sales currently only account for 13% of total omni-channel retail sales .

In contrast, in China and some other markets with higher digital maturity , e-commerce channel retail sales already account for 46 % or more of total retail sales .

Although many countries and regions have shown their potential as blue ocean markets for e-commerce development, as some e-commerce platform policies are tightened, cross-border sellers will face certain pressures in their operations. Sellers must plan reasonably, operate in compliance, and seek progress in a stable manner.

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