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Economy in Brief
FIBER: Industrial Commodity Prices Improve Modestly
The FIBER Industrial Materials Price Index increased 0.9% during the four weeks ended April 9...
EMU Retail Sales Jump, Regaining Some of the January Drop
February finds EU retail sales and motor vehicle registration rebounding...
U.S. PPI Posts Broad-Based Strength in March
The Producer Price Index for final demand jumped 1.0% (4.2% y/y) during March...
U.S. Wholesale Inventories Post Strong February Gain; Sales Fall
Wholesale inventories increased 0.6% (2.0% y/y) during February...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Unexpectedly Increase
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 744,000 during the week ended April 3...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
Monetary Policy Blunder: Not Managing Economic & Financial Outcomes Equally
Monetary Policy at a Crossroad: Policymakers Need to Break Promise of Easy Money to Avoid Boom-Bust
State Coincident Indexes in January
Data Surprises, Markets and COVID
by Tom Moeller August 18, 2020
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that during the second quarter of this year, retail sales via the internet (E-Commerce) rose 31.8% (SA) from Q1'20. The gain followed increases of 2.4% in Q1 and a 2.2% Q4'19 rise.
This strength compares to a 3.9% Q2 decline in retail sales overall (-3.6% y/y). As a result, E-Commerce sales rose to 16.1% of total retail sales last quarter, up from 10.9% in 2019 and, by comparison, 4.4% in 2010.
Details of the E-Commerce data are not seasonally adjusted. Compared to last year, these figures show strength in most categories during Q2'20 as a result of stay-at-home mandates. It was led by a 105.3% surge (86.8% y/y) in building materials & garden equipment sales and a 101.4% strengthening (220.5% y/y) in food & beverage purchases. Sales of sporting goods, hobby, musical instruments & books jumped 84.4% (117.8% y/y) while general merchandise purchases strengthened 76.4% (81.8% y/y). Furniture & home furnishing store sales rose 40.4% (61.8% y/y). Nonstore retail sales, which account for 60% of total E-Commerce sales, rose 25.0% (29.6% y/y).
E-commerce sales are sales of goods and services whereby the buyer places an order, or the terms of the sale and price 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. Total sales estimates are adjusted for seasonal variation, but not for price changes. They 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.
Q2'20 | Q1'20 | Q4'19 | Q2'20 Y/Y | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Retail Sales (%) | -3.9 | -1.2 | 0.5 | -3.6 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.6 | |
% of E-Commerce Sales | ||||||||
Total E-Commerce Sales (SA) | 100 | 31.8 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 44.5 | 14.9 | 13.4 | 15.5 |
Total E-Commerce Sales (NSA) | -- | 37.0 | -21.1 | 27.7 | 44.4 | -- | -- | -- |
Nonstore Retailers (NSA) | 54 | 25.0 | -19.8 | 22.8 | 29.6 | 16.1 | NA | NA |
Motor Vehicles & Parts | 5 | 14.2 | -11.5 | 1.3 | 7.0 | 9.8 | -- | -- |
Furniture & Home Furnishings | 2 | 40.4 | -6.7 | 18.6 | 61.8 | 6.8 | -- | -- |
Building Materials & Garden Equipment | 4 | 105.3 | -6.5 | 7.6 | 86.8 | 11.3 | -- | -- |
Clothing & Accessories | 7 | 37.8 | -37.0 | 57.8 | 43.6 | 8.7 | -- | -- |
General Merchandise | 4 | 76.4 | -42.8 | 74.0 | 81.8 | 14.2 | -- | -- |
Food & Beverages | 4 | 101.4 | 8.5 | 30.1 | 220.5 | 8.7 | -- | -- |
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instruments & Books | 2 | 84.4 | -25.7 | 33.6 | 117.8 | -3.4 | -- | -- |
Miscellaneous (Including Gas Stations) | 3 | 47.7 | -9.3 | 5.5 | 40.8 | 7.2 | -- | -- |