E-commerce sales rise 19% last year in U.S.
Online retail sales continued to far outpace overall retail sales in the U.S. last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce reports. Retail e-commerce sales grew 19% to $136.4 billion, up from $114.62 billion in 2006, as overall retail sales increased 4%, it says.
Retail e-commerce also accounted for a rising percentage of total U.S. retail sales last year—3.4%, up from 2.9% in 2006, the Commerce Department reports.
The Commerce Department retail sales figure, however, includes many sales that are not likely to occur online—such as restaurant, convenience store, gasoline and heating fuel receipts. Excluding such sales, Internet Retailer estimates about 6% of U.S. retail sales occur online.
The Commerce Department figures are adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes.
