U.S. online retail spending reached US$44.3B in Q1, a 17% increase from a year ago, the 10th straight quarter of positive yearly growth and sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth: comScore
Cindy Allen
RESTON, Virginia
,
May 10, 2012
(press release)
–
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its Q1 2012 U.S. retail e-commerce sales estimates, showing that online retail spending reached $44.3 billion for the quarter, up 17 percent versus year ago. This represents the tenth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
Retail E-Commerce (Non-Travel) Growth Rates
Excludes Auctions, Autos and Large Corporate Purchases
Total U.S. – Home & Work Locations
Source: comScore, Inc.
Quarter
E-Commerce Spending ($ Millions)
Y/Y Percent Change
Q1 2007
$27,970
17%
Q2 2007
$27,176
23%
Q3 2007
$28,441
23%
Q4 2007
$39,132
19%
Q1 2008
$31,178
11%
Q2 2008
$30,581
13%
Q3 2008
$30,274
6%
Q4 2008
$38,071
-3%
Q1 2009
$31,031
0%
Q2 2009
$30,169
-1%
Q3 2009
$29,552
-2%
Q4 2009
$39,045
3%
Q1 2010
$33,984
10%
Q2 2010
$32,942
9%
Q3 2010
$32,133
9%
Q4 2010
$43,432
11%
Q1 2011
$38,002
12%
Q2 2011
$37,501
14%
Q3 2011
$36,308
13%
Q4 2011
$49,698
14%
Q1 2012
$44,282
17%
“The first quarter of this year was especially strong for retail e-commerce as we returned to year-over-year growth rates in the high teens, numbers we haven’t seen since 2007,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. “While the economic recovery continues to be painfully slow, the channel shift to e-commerce appears to be accelerating. This presents opportunities but also challenges for brick-and-mortar retailers if they can’t hold onto their offline market share in the digital world. E-commerce has reached critical mass in several product categories, and it will be important to monitor these sales trends by category in order to correctly gauge the impact e-commerce is having on overall retailer performance.”
Other highlights from Q1 2012 include:
The top-performing online product categories were: Digital Content & Subscriptions, Computer Software, Consumer Electronics, Jewelry & Watches and Event Tickets. Each category grew at least 17 percent vs. year ago.
48.8 percent of e-commerce transactions included free shipping, the highest percentage for a quarter on record outside of the holiday season. Only Q4 2011 (51.8 percent) and Q4 2010 (49.3 percent) have been higher overall.
According to comScore’s Q1 2012 Retail survey, 38 percent of tablet owners have made a purchase on their devices within the past month. Apparel was the most popular category for purchase among tablet shoppers.
Webinar Series: State of the U.S. Online Retail Economy through Q1 2012
Join Gian Fulgoni and Andrew Lipsman, VP of Industry Analysis, as they present an update of the state of the U.S. online retail economy through Q1 2012 in a live webinar on Thursday, May 17 from 2-3 p.m. EST / 1-2 p.m. CST / 11-12 p.m. PST. New topics being covered include retail “showrooming” and shopping behavior on tablets.
To register for the webinar, please visit: www.comscore.com/SOR_Q1_2012_Webinar
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
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