Online retail sales, more formally known as "E-Commerce sales," rose 3.3% q/q (9.1% y/y) in Q2'21 on a seasonally adjusted basis after a 7.8% gain in Q1'21 and a 0.9% drop in Q4'20, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Q2'21 increase in E-Commerce sales compares to a 5.2% q/q rise (28.2% y/y) in overall retail sales during the same period. This overall measure of retail sales excludes the food services and restaurants. E-Commerce sales account for 13.3% of total retail sales in Q2'21, compared to 13.6% in 2020, 10.7% in 2019 and 4.4% in 2010.

Details of the E-Commerce data by sector are not seasonally adjusted. Sales of nonstore retailers, which accounted for 56% of total E-Commerce sales in Q2'21, rebounded 8.6% q/q (17.0% y/y) in Q2 after a 11.9% decrease in Q1. Online sales of motor vehicles & parts jumped 18.9% (49.6% y/y), the fifth straight quarterly gain, after a 4.5% increase. Sales of furniture & home furnishings rose 3.1% (-2.4% y/y) following a 16.9% drop. Building materials & garden equipment sales recovered 31.6% (5.7% y/y), the largest q/q gain since Q2'20, after a 5.6% decline. Clothing accessory store sales rose 9.3% (4.7% y/y) vs. a 33.0% drop. General merchandise store sales rebounded 11.1% (-0.6% y/y) after weakening 35.6%. Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument & book sales increased 1.8% (-16.1% y/y) following a 27.2% slide. Miscellaneous sales including gasoline stations rose 5.6% (27.0% y/y), the fourth q/q rise in five quarters, after a 2.5% decline. In contrast, food & beverage purchases fell 9.8% (-8.9% y/y), the third q/q fall in four quarters, after a 0.1% dip.

E-commerce sales are goods and services ordered 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 and sometimes sale & price are negotiated. 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.