Adjusted Q4 2010 US e-commerce sales increased 5.6% from Q3 2010, according to new estimates from the US Census Bureau. Adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes, US retail e-commerce sales in Q4 2010 totaled $44.1 billion, up from $41.5 billion the previous quarter.
YOY E-commerce Sales Grow 16%
In addition, this figure represented an increase of 16.1% from about $40 billion in Q4 2009. E-commerce sales in Q4 2010 accounted for 4.3% of total adjusted Q4 2010 retail spending of about $1.01 trillion.
Total 2010 E-commerce Sales
Total US e-commerce sales for 2010 were estimated at $165.4 billion, an increase of 14.8% from 2009. E-commerce sales in 2010 accounted for 4.2% of total sales. In contrast, e-commerce sales in 2009 accounted for 3.9% of total sales.
Adjusted E-commerce Sales Show Steady Growth
Adjusted for seasonal variation, retail e-commerce sales have shown a steady quarter-over-quarter growth pattern for the past year. In Q3 2010, retail e-commerce sales grew 4.6%, from $39.9 billion, and also grew 3.2% in Q2 2010, from $38.7 billion to $39.9 billion. This was preceded by 1.9% growth from about $38.1 billion in Q1 2010.
Year-over-year growth was also steady. Q3 2010 retail e-commerce sales grew 16.1%, preceded by quarters with year-over-growth rates of 14.7%, 14.3% and 14.6%, respectively.
Unadjusted E-commerce Sales Show Varied Results
Removing seasonal adjustments, retail e-commerce sales have followed a dramatically different path in the past year quarter-over-quarter but similar results year-over-year. Unadjusted Q4 2010 e-commerce sales totaled about $52.6 billion, a 35.5% increase from $38.8 billion in Q3 2010 and 16.3% from the prior year.
Meanwhile, unadjusted Q3 2010 retail e-commerce sales totaled $38.8 billion, a 4% increase from $37.4 billion the previous quarter and 14% from the prior year. Further racking retail e-commerce sales quarter-over-quarter in the past year, Q2 2010 unadjusted retail e-commerce sales totaled $37.4 billion, a 1.9% quarterly increase and 14.1% annual increase. In Q1 2010, unadjusted retail e-commerce sales were $36.7 billion, an 18.8% quarterly drop but 14.2% annual hike.
However, Q4 2009 unadjusted retail e-commerce sales of $45.2 billion represented 32.8% quarterly growth from Q3 2009, when unadjusted retail e-commerce sales totaled $34 billion, up 3.9% quarterly and 1.6% annually, as well as 15% year-over-year growth.
comScore: US E-commerce Spending up 9% in 2010
Total US e-commerce spending reached $227.6 billion in 2010, up 9% from the previous year, according to a new white paper from comScore. “The 2010 US Digital Year in Review” also indicates that on a year-over-year basis, travel e-commerce spending grew 6% to $85.2 billion, while retail (nontravel) e-commerce spending jumped 10% to $142.5 billion for the year.
comScore analysis indicates that depressed consumer discretionary spending going back to the end of 2008 finally gave way to improving consumer sentiment, helping lead the US e-commerce market back to consistent positive growth in 2010.
