U.S. E-Comm Sales Surge 16.3 Percent In Second Quarter

The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce reported that the estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2017, adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes, was $111.5 billion, an increase of 16.2 percent from the second quarter of 2016.

Total retail sales increased 4.1 percent to $1.27 trillion in the same period.

E-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2017 accounted for 8.9 percent of total sales; however, a deeper look into the numbers reveals a much higher share of business for the Internet channel.

Retail sales, excluding gasoline and automobiles, items not normally sold on the internet, rose 4 percent to $871.3 million in the second quarter.

Excluding the impact of gasoline and automobiles, it appears that internet channel sales actually accounted for 12.1 percent of total sales in the second quarter, up from 10.8 percent in Q2 2016.

These numbers fall short of the internet numbers for the active lifestyle market. According to data from SSI Data*, the internet delivered 16.5 percent of active lifestyle product sales generated in the calendar second quarter of 2017, up from 15.8 percent in Q2 2016. Sales growth was in line with the Census data, growing 16.5 percent.

Excluding the seasonal adjustment, the estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2017 totaled $105.1 billion, an increase of 16.3 percent from the 2016 second quarter, while total retail sales increased 4.4 percent in the same period. E-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2017 accounted for 8.2 percent of total sales on a non-adjusted basis.

Photo courtesy Amazon

*SSI Data, managed by SportsOnesource, LLC, collects weekly retail point-of-sale data from over 20 retail channels of distribution and delivers timely sales trending reporting for footwear, apparel, essentials and equipment within 5 days of each fiscal week close, enabling retailers and brands to react to nearly real-time data to better manage their businesses. 

For more information on how your brand is performing, email Matt Tucker at solutions@ssidata.com.