| Actual | Previous | Revised | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter over Quarter | 1.4% | 0.1% | -0.1% |
Highlights
If increases in the dollar value of e-commerce sales are moderating, consumers' liking of shopping online continues to rise.
E-commerce sales are up 1.4 percent quarter-over-quarter in the second quarter 2025 after a downward revision to a decline of 0.1 percent in the first quarter. However, the quarterly pace of growth is softer than the moderate pace that characterized 2024 when increases were up 2.3 percent in the first quarter, up 2.0 percent in the second quarter, up 2.2 percent in the third quarter, and up 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter. The second quarter increase for e-commerce sales is faster than the up 0.4 percent for total retail.
Compared to the year-ago quarter, e-commerce sales are up 5.3 percent in the second quarter to the slowest year-over-year increase since up 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter 2022. The annual increase for e-commerce is faster than the up 3.9 percent for total retail.
E-commerce sales account for 16.3 percent of total retail sales in the second quarter 2025, the largest share in the series history and matching the 16.3 percent share in the second quarter 2020 when there were widespread closures of public-facing activities during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
E-commerce sales are up 1.4 percent quarter-over-quarter in the second quarter 2025 after a downward revision to a decline of 0.1 percent in the first quarter. However, the quarterly pace of growth is softer than the moderate pace that characterized 2024 when increases were up 2.3 percent in the first quarter, up 2.0 percent in the second quarter, up 2.2 percent in the third quarter, and up 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter. The second quarter increase for e-commerce sales is faster than the up 0.4 percent for total retail.
Compared to the year-ago quarter, e-commerce sales are up 5.3 percent in the second quarter to the slowest year-over-year increase since up 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter 2022. The annual increase for e-commerce is faster than the up 3.9 percent for total retail.
E-commerce sales account for 16.3 percent of total retail sales in the second quarter 2025, the largest share in the series history and matching the 16.3 percent share in the second quarter 2020 when there were widespread closures of public-facing activities during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Definition
E-commerce sales are sales of goods and services where an order is placed by the buyer or where price and terms of sale are negotiated over the Internet, an extranet, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) network, or other online system. Payment may or may not be made online. Retail e-commerce sales are estimated from the same sample used for the Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) to estimate preliminary and final U.S. retail sales. Advance U.S. retail sales are estimated from a subsample of the MRTS sample that is not of adequate size to measure changes in retail e-commerce sales.
Description
E-commerce is a faster growing segment of the retail sector than retail sales overall. This report provides detail on e-commerce retail sales and data on its share of total retail sales. The growth rates and shares of e-commerce can be used as a benchmark to compare individual companies' growth in e-commerce. E-commerce increasingly is important for retailers' profitability and viability.
