U.S. e-commerce sales reached $268.12 billion in the first quarter! Growth hit a record high

It is learned that on May 20, according to foreign media reports, the penetration rate of e-commerce in the United States hit a record high in the first quarter, and e-commerce sales accounted for 22.2% of total sales in the first quarter of 2024.

In the first quarter of 2024, U.S. e-commerce sales reached $268.12 billion, an increase of 8.5% from $247.18 billion in the first quarter of 2023. In addition, this quarter was the fastest growing first quarter for e-commerce since the first quarter of 2020, accounting for 52.8% of the total retail sales growth during the same period. The main reason is that amid inflation concerns, price-sensitive shoppers turned to e-commerce platforms to find the best prices.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, total retail sales in the first quarter of 2024 reached $1.820 trillion, or $1.205 trillion excluding segments that do not typically sell online. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, total retail sales in the first quarter of 2024 fell 12.7%, and e-commerce sales fell 17%. Affected by the holiday shopping season, sales in the first quarter are almost always lower than those in the fourth quarter of the previous year.

Meanwhile, year-over-year growth in e-commerce sales in the first quarter reversed the quarter-over-quarter decline. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, e-commerce sales fell faster than total sales in the first quarter of 2024. But compared to the first quarter of 2023, e-commerce sales grew faster than total sales in the first quarter of 2024. In the first quarter of 2024, the year-over-year growth rate of e-commerce sales (8.5%) was more than double that of total sales (3.4%).

Author ✎Rayna/

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