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Economy in Brief
U.S. Consumer Credit Outstanding Declines in January
Consumers reduced credit balances further in January...
U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to $68.2 Billion in January
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $68.2 billion in January...
German Order Growth Gets Back in Gear Despite the Headwinds
German order growth is back in gear with total orders rising by 1.4% m/m in January...
U.S. Factory Orders & Shipments Rise Again in January
Manufacturing activity is strengthening. Factory orders rose 2.6% (2.8% y/y) in January...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Rise Just 9,000
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose modestly by 9,000 to 745,000 in the week ended February 27...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller February 19, 2020
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that during the fourth quarter of last year, retail sales via the internet (E-Commerce) increased 2.6% (SA) from Q3. The gain followed a 4.6% Q3 rise, and was the weakest increase since Q4'18. E-Commerce sales increased 16.7% y/y, up from an 11.5% y/y gain in Q4'18.
This strength compares to a lesser 0.4% quarterly rise (3.8% y/y) in retail sales last quarter. As a result, E-Commerce sales rose to 11.0% of total retail sales last year, up from 9.9% in 2018 and 4.4% in 2010.
E-commerce sales are sales of goods and services where the buyer places an order, or the price and terms of the sale are negotiated over an Internet, mobile device (M-commerce), extranet, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) network, electronic mail, or other comparable online system. Payment may or may not be made online. Estimates are adjusted for seasonal variation, but not for price changes. Total sales estimates are also adjusted for trading-day differences and moving holidays.
The retail sales and retail E-Commerce sales data can be found in Haver's USECON database.
Q4'19 | Q3'19 | Q2'19 | Q4'19 Y/Y | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
E-Commerce Sales (%) | 2.6 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 16.7 | 14.9 | 13.6 | 16.0 |
Total Retail Sales (%) | 0.4 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 4.5 |