U.S. E-Commerce At $194.3 Billion, Feds Say

E-commerce sales within the United States increased 16% in 2011 to $194.3 billion, according to a report issued by the U.S. Commerce Department.

As a share of all spending, e-commerce represented 4.6% of total U.S. retail activity in 2011, up from 4.3% in 2010.

Earlier this month, comScore Inc. estimated the same full-year statistic at $161.5 billion, calling it a 13% increase from 2010. According to Internet Retailer, the comScore estimate is based on purchase data collected from one million online shoppers, while the Commerce Department works from data provided by roughly 11,000 U.S. merchants.