U.S. E-Commerce Sales Improve in Q3'22
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Sales rise for fourth straight quarter.
- Changes in sales are uneven across categories.
Online retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 3.0% (10.8% y/y) in Q3’22 following increases of 3.1% and 2.6% in the prior two quarters, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. E-Commerce sales accounted for 14.8% of total retail sales in Q3'22 and has been steady at that level since 2020.
To the upside, sales of nonstore retailers, which accounted for 55.9% of total E-Commerce, rose 1.8% last quarter (NSA, 14.8% y/y) following a 10.8% rise in Q2. Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument & book sales strengthened 4.8% (13.5% y/y) after rising 5.5%. Sales of furniture & home furnishings improved 3.0% in Q3 (6.5% y/y) after a 5.0% rise. Electronics & appliance store sales improved 0.5% in Q3 (-6.6% y/y) after declining sharply for two straight quarters. Food & beverage purchases held steady (+3.2% y/y), also following two consecutive quarters of decline.
Falling were general merchandise store sales, down 1.9% last quarter (6.0% y/y) after rising 9.4% in Q2. Clothing accessory store sales eased 0.4% (+8.9% y/y) after rising 7.0%. Building materials & garden equipment sales declined 11.4% in Q3 (+14.9% y/y) after rising 27.4%. Miscellaneous sales including gasoline stations fell 4.2% (+15.7% y/y) after rising 10.7% in Q2. Motor vehicle & parts sales weakened 5.1% (+1.0% y/y) following a 4.5% rise.
These details of the E-Commerce data by sector are not seasonally adjusted.
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.
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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