E-Commerce Sales in ‘07 Up 19% vs. ‘06, Q4 Sales Up 4.6% from Q3

U.S. retail e-commerce sales in 2007 were up 19.0 percent from 2006, whereas total retail sales were up 4.0 percent in the same period, according to the most-recent estimates from the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, writes MarketingCharts.

Retail e-commerce sales in the fourth quarter of 2007 (adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes) totaled $36.2 billion - an increase of 4.6 percent (±1.8 percent) from the previous quarter, Commerce reported (pdf).

According to the Q4 estimates:

• The 4Q07 e-commerce estimate was up 18.0 percent (±2.1 percent) from 4Q06.
• E-commerce sales in 4Q07 accounted for 3.5 percent of total sales in the quarter.
• Total retail sales for the fourth quarter of 2007 were estimated at $1,030.7 billion, an increase of 0.9 percent (±0.3 percent) from the third quarter of 2007.
• Total fourth quarter 2007 retail sales increased 4.7 percent (±0.2 percent) from the fourth quarter of 2006.

View table of estimated quarterly U.S. retail sales - total and e-commerce.

Full-year 2007 figures:

• Total e-commerce sales for 2007 were estimated at $136.4 billion, an increase of 19.0 percent (±2.8 percent) from 2006.
• Total retail sales in 2007 increased 4.0 percent (±0.3 percent) from 2006.
• E-commerce sales in 2007 accounted for 3.4 percent of total sales; in 2006, e-commerce sales accounted for 2.9 percent of total.

See graph of quarterly online sales as a percentage of retail sales, 4Q99-4Q07.

Q4 on a not-adjusted basis:

• The estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the fourth quarter of 2007 totaled $41.8 billion, an increase of 29.5 percent (±1.8 percent) from the third quarter of 2007.
• The fourth quarter 2007 e-commerce estimate increased 18.2 percent (±2.1 percent) from the fourth quarter of 2006; total retail sales increased 5.0 percent (±0.2 percent) in the same period.
• E-commerce sales in the fourth quarter of 2007 accounted for 3.9 percent of total sales.

For e-commerce and total retail sales from the past 8 years, by quarter, see table.

Note: According to the Dept. of Commerce, e-commerce sales are sales of goods and services where an order is placed by the buyer or price and terms of sale are negotiated over an internet, extranet, electronic data interchange (EDI) network, electronic mail, or other online system. Payment may or may not be made online.

Intention to revise: Quarterly retail e-commerce estimates will be revised based on the results of the 2006 Annual Retail Trade Survey, according to the Dept. of Commerce. Revised not-adjusted and corresponding adjusted data are scheduled for release on May 15, 2008.