U.S. e-commerce sales heat up in August! Demand for multiple categories rises

It is learned that according to data from Mastercard SpendingPulse™, total U.S. retail sales (excluding car dealers, gas stations and restaurants) increased by 11.7% in August compared with the same period in 2021; compared with the same period in 2019, it increased by 20.4%.

Data showed that U.S. e-commerce sales grew 8.9% year-on-year in August, a slight decrease from the 11.7% year-on-year growth in July. On the contrary, in-store sales growth continued to remain high, up 12.3% year-on-year and 11.1% over the same period in 2019.

It is learned that fuel and convenience sales continued to rise in August, up 21.2% year-on-year, affected by inflation. On the other hand, jewelry sales surged 17.5% as high-income people remained keen on spending. At the same time, clothing sales surged 17% as retailers launched clearance offers, resulting in some products being in short supply.

Due to the end of the holiday season, in August, U.S. consumers' spending on restaurants increased by 14.8%, while spending on hotels declined, increasing by only 6.0%.

In addition, U.S. consumer spending on groceries increased by 12.1%, and spending on home furnishings and furniture (6.7%), electronics (4.3%), and home improvement (3.6%) also increased. However, spending on luxury goods decreased by 3.0%.

It is worth noting that Mastercard SpendingPulse™ also predicts that during the 2022 holiday shopping season, total U.S. retail sales will increase by 7.1% year-on-year, up 18.8% from 2019; e-commerce sales will increase by 4.2% year-on-year, up 69.2% from 2019; and in-store sales will increase by 7.9% year-on-year, up 10.4% from 2019. Overall, despite inflation, sales during the peak season are still positive.

Editor ✎ Nicole/

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