Fourth-quarter eCommerce sales in 2020 topped out at almost $207 billion, a 1.2 percent drop from the third quarter, but up 32.1 percent compared to the same period in 2019, the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce reported on Friday (Feb. 19).
The Census Bureau report also indicated that 2020 retail sales for the fourth quarter were almost $1.5 billion, a 0.5 percent hike over the third quarter of 2020. More than a decade ago, eCommerce accounted for roughly 5.1 percent of total retail purchases compared to online sales today, which account for 21 percent of all sales.
According to the report, total eCommerce sales for 2020 were estimated at nearly $792 billion, an increase of 32.4 percent from 2019. Total retail sales went up 3.4 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. eCommerce sales in 2020 accounted for 14.0 percent of total sales.
The Commerce Department is developing a communications and digital services strategy to advance outreach, while also creating a contract for advisory and support services.
Spending data for 2021 indicates that retail sales were up 5.3 percent in January compared to December’s levels. Non-store retail sales, which include eCommerce transactions, grew 11 percent over levels in December 2020 and 28.7 percent over January of last year.
In other spending news, a PYMNTS report showed that lower-income recipients of stimulus payments spent those funds, which were targeted for people making less than $75,000 a year.
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