Online share of total U.S. retail sales in 2023, by product category

Apparel and accessories was the e-commerce category with the highest share in total retail sales in the United States as of February 2023. 18.3 percent of all retail sales in the fashion segment were generated online. The category with the second-highest percentage of retail sales in the U.S. was furniture, at 15.7 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, office equipment and supplies had the lowest share of retail sales, below two percent.

The continuous rise of e-commerce

Online shopping is on the rise in the United States. The share of all retail sales in the U.S. stemming from online shopping has increased from 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2010 to a record-breaking 15.6 percent in the third quarter of 2023. Consequently, the sales of retail e-commerce have surged from 39 million U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2010 to more than 280 billion U.S. dollars in the third quarter of 2023. This boom is forecast to continue over the next few years, with the estimated revenue from online sales, including digital services, reaching 1.72 trillion U.S. dollars by 2027.

The king of e-commerce

In the United States, the number of online shoppers continues to grow. In 2023, there were more than a quarter of a million online shoppers, and the number is forecast to reach over 300 million by 2028. The most popular online shopping destination in the U.S., Amazon, sees a surge of shoppers during certain shopping occasions, which feature appealing bargains that encourage extravagant spending. In 2023, the biggest increase in sales occurred on Black Friday, with an increase of nearly 35 percent. Amazon's deal event for Prime members, Prime Day, saw 17 percent more sales. As for Cyber Monday, sales went up by 13 percent.