{
 "slug": "us-ecommerce-share-of-retail",
 "no": 1,
 "date": "2026-10-27",
 "updated": "2026-10-27",
 "title": "Online shopping now takes 17.1% of US retail sales",
 "description": "Interactive chart: e-commerce grew from 0.6% of US retail sales in Q4 1999 to a record 17.1% in Q2 2026, per US Census Bureau seasonally adjusted data. Scrub 27 years.",
 "topics": [
  "E-commerce",
  "Retail"
 ],
 "big": {
  "v": 17.1,
  "f": {
   "d": 1,
   "s": "%"
  },
  "l": "of US retail sales were made online in Q2 2026 (seasonally adjusted)",
  "src": [
   "census"
  ]
 },
 "stats": [
  {
   "v": "$340.2B",
   "l": "US e-commerce sales in Q2 2026, seasonally adjusted",
   "src": [
    "ecomsa"
   ]
  },
  {
   "v": "28.5×",
   "l": "rise in online's share since Q4 1999 (0.6% → 17.1%). XENA calculation",
   "src": [
    "fred"
   ]
  },
  {
   "v": "21 quarters",
   "l": "before the Q2 2020 pandemic peak (16.3%) was beaten, in Q3 2025 (16.4%)",
   "src": [
    "fred"
   ]
  }
 ],
 "sources": [
  {
   "id": "census",
   "t": "Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, 2nd Quarter 2026",
   "pub": "US Census Bureau",
   "y": 2026,
   "u": "https://www.census.gov/retail/ecommerce.html"
  },
  {
   "id": "fred",
   "t": "E-Commerce Retail Sales as a Percent of Total Sales (ECOMPCTSA)",
   "pub": "US Census Bureau via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis",
   "y": 2026,
   "u": "https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ECOMPCTSA"
  },
  {
   "id": "ecomsa",
   "t": "E-Commerce Retail Sales (ECOMSA), millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted",
   "pub": "US Census Bureau via FRED",
   "y": 2026,
   "u": "https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ECOMSA"
  },
  {
   "id": "shopify",
   "t": "Shopify Q4 and full-year 2025 results (US e-commerce market share estimate)",
   "pub": "Shopify Inc., SEC exhibit 99.1",
   "y": 2026,
   "u": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1594805/000159480526000006/exhibit991pressreleaseq420.htm"
  }
 ],
 "notes": [
  "All shares are seasonally adjusted e-commerce sales divided by seasonally adjusted total retail sales, as published by the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau revises earlier quarters; we used the values published on FRED as of October 2026, which list the Q2 2020 peak at 16.3%.",
  "Total retail includes motor vehicle dealers and gas stations, which sell mostly offline. Measures that exclude them would show a higher online share, so other trackers may quote larger numbers.",
  "Dollar figures are seasonally adjusted quarterly sales, not annual totals. The 12.2% year-over-year growth for Q2 2026 is a XENA calculation from the seasonally adjusted series."
 ],
 "blocks": [
  {
   "id": "share",
   "type": "line",
   "title": "E-commerce as a share of total US retail sales",
   "sub": "Quarterly, seasonally adjusted, Q4 1999 to Q2 2026. Drag the slider or the chart to scrub.",
   "x": [
    "1999 Q4",
    "2000 Q1",
    "2000 Q2",
    "2000 Q3",
    "2000 Q4",
    "2001 Q1",
    "2001 Q2",
    "2001 Q3",
    "2001 Q4",
    "2002 Q1",
    "2002 Q2",
    "2002 Q3",
    "2002 Q4",
    "2003 Q1",
    "2003 Q2",
    "2003 Q3",
    "2003 Q4",
    "2004 Q1",
    "2004 Q2",
    "2004 Q3",
    "2004 Q4",
    "2005 Q1",
    "2005 Q2",
    "2005 Q3",
    "2005 Q4",
    "2006 Q1",
    "2006 Q2",
    "2006 Q3",
    "2006 Q4",
    "2007 Q1",
    "2007 Q2",
    "2007 Q3",
    "2007 Q4",
    "2008 Q1",
    "2008 Q2",
    "2008 Q3",
    "2008 Q4",
    "2009 Q1",
    "2009 Q2",
    "2009 Q3",
    "2009 Q4",
    "2010 Q1",
    "2010 Q2",
    "2010 Q3",
    "2010 Q4",
    "2011 Q1",
    "2011 Q2",
    "2011 Q3",
    "2011 Q4",
    "2012 Q1",
    "2012 Q2",
    "2012 Q3",
    "2012 Q4",
    "2013 Q1",
    "2013 Q2",
    "2013 Q3",
    "2013 Q4",
    "2014 Q1",
    "2014 Q2",
    "2014 Q3",
    "2014 Q4",
    "2015 Q1",
    "2015 Q2",
    "2015 Q3",
    "2015 Q4",
    "2016 Q1",
    "2016 Q2",
    "2016 Q3",
    "2016 Q4",
    "2017 Q1",
    "2017 Q2",
    "2017 Q3",
    "2017 Q4",
    "2018 Q1",
    "2018 Q2",
    "2018 Q3",
    "2018 Q4",
    "2019 Q1",
    "2019 Q2",
    "2019 Q3",
    "2019 Q4",
    "2020 Q1",
    "2020 Q2",
    "2020 Q3",
    "2020 Q4",
    "2021 Q1",
    "2021 Q2",
    "2021 Q3",
    "2021 Q4",
    "2022 Q1",
    "2022 Q2",
    "2022 Q3",
    "2022 Q4",
    "2023 Q1",
    "2023 Q2",
    "2023 Q3",
    "2023 Q4",
    "2024 Q1",
    "2024 Q2",
    "2024 Q3",
    "2024 Q4",
    "2025 Q1",
    "2025 Q2",
    "2025 Q3",
    "2025 Q4",
    "2026 Q1",
    "2026 Q2"
   ],
   "yoy": 4,
   "modes": [
    {
     "key": "share",
     "label": "% of retail",
     "f": {
      "d": 1,
      "s": "%"
     },
     "series": [
      {
       "name": "E-commerce share",
       "color": "#FA649B",
       "v": [
        0.6,
        0.8,
        0.9,
        1.0,
        1.0,
        1.1,
        1.1,
        1.1,
        1.2,
        1.3,
        1.4,
        1.5,
        1.5,
        1.6,
        1.7,
        1.8,
        1.9,
        2.0,
        2.0,
        2.1,
        2.2,
        2.3,
        2.4,
        2.5,
        2.6,
        2.7,
        2.8,
        2.9,
        3.1,
        3.2,
        3.3,
        3.5,
        3.5,
        3.6,
        3.6,
        3.6,
        3.6,
        3.8,
        3.9,
        4.1,
        4.1,
        4.2,
        4.4,
        4.6,
        4.6,
        4.7,
        4.8,
        4.9,
        5.1,
        5.2,
        5.3,
        5.5,
        5.6,
        5.6,
        5.8,
        5.9,
        6.1,
        6.2,
        6.3,
        6.5,
        6.6,
        6.9,
        7.0,
        7.2,
        7.4,
        7.7,
        7.8,
        8.0,
        8.2,
        8.4,
        8.7,
        8.9,
        9.1,
        9.4,
        9.6,
        9.7,
        9.9,
        10.0,
        10.3,
        10.8,
        11.2,
        11.9,
        16.3,
        14.9,
        15.0,
        14.9,
        14.6,
        14.5,
        14.6,
        14.4,
        14.2,
        14.5,
        14.6,
        15.0,
        15.3,
        15.4,
        15.5,
        15.9,
        16.1,
        16.2,
        16.2,
        16.0,
        16.3,
        16.4,
        16.7,
        17.0,
        17.1
       ]
      }
     ]
    },
    {
     "key": "usd",
     "label": "$ sales",
     "f": {
      "d": 1,
      "p": "$",
      "s": "B"
     },
     "series": [
      {
       "name": "E-commerce sales ($B, SA)",
       "color": "#A98BFF",
       "v": [
        4.5,
        5.6,
        6.4,
        7.3,
        7.7,
        8.0,
        8.2,
        8.2,
        9.1,
        9.7,
        10.5,
        11.3,
        11.9,
        12.4,
        13.4,
        14.5,
        15.2,
        16.2,
        17.0,
        17.9,
        19.0,
        20.2,
        21.6,
        23.0,
        23.7,
        25.6,
        26.5,
        27.9,
        29.2,
        30.8,
        32.6,
        33.9,
        34.8,
        35.1,
        35.6,
        35.4,
        32.2,
        33.1,
        34.4,
        36.6,
        37.3,
        38.6,
        40.6,
        42.7,
        44.3,
        46.2,
        47.9,
        49.2,
        52.1,
        54.2,
        55.4,
        57.4,
        59.6,
        61.0,
        62.7,
        64.5,
        66.9,
        68.8,
        71.8,
        74.2,
        76.1,
        78.6,
        81.2,
        84.0,
        86.7,
        89.6,
        92.4,
        95.5,
        98.4,
        102.6,
        106.4,
        109.9,
        115.2,
        119.5,
        123.0,
        125.8,
        129.4,
        130.2,
        135.5,
        144.1,
        150.2,
        156.9,
        208.1,
        212.4,
        217.2,
        227.9,
        236.0,
        232.2,
        239.8,
        244.0,
        248.0,
        252.0,
        252.7,
        263.0,
        269.7,
        275.2,
        276.8,
        283.0,
        288.8,
        295.2,
        300.3,
        297.7,
        303.3,
        310.8,
        318.0,
        327.9,
        340.2
       ]
      }
     ]
    }
   ],
   "ann": [
    {
     "i": 1,
     "t": "Dot-com era",
     "d": "Online was under 1% of retail."
    },
    {
     "i": 36,
     "t": "Great Recession",
     "d": "Share stalls at 3.6% for four quarters."
    },
    {
     "i": 82,
     "t": "Pandemic spike",
     "d": "Lockdowns push share to 16.3% in one quarter, from 11.9%."
    },
    {
     "i": 90,
     "t": "Reopening dip",
     "d": "Stores reopen and share falls back to 14.2%."
    },
    {
     "i": 103,
     "t": "New record",
     "d": "16.4% finally tops the pandemic peak."
    },
    {
     "i": 106,
     "t": "Latest",
     "d": "17.1% in Q2 2026."
    }
   ],
   "src": [
    "fred",
    "ecomsa",
    "census"
   ],
   "note": "Total retail includes motor vehicles and gas stations. Census revises past quarters; values as published on FRED in October 2026."
  },
  {
   "id": "decade",
   "type": "bar",
   "title": "Online cents in every US retail dollar",
   "sub": "Fourth quarter of each year, seasonally adjusted share of total retail sales. Tap a bar.",
   "x": [
    "2000",
    "2005",
    "2010",
    "2015",
    "2020",
    "2025"
   ],
   "modes": [
    {
     "key": "share",
     "label": "Share",
     "f": {
      "d": 1,
      "s": "%"
     },
     "series": [
      {
       "name": "E-commerce share (Q4)",
       "color": "#FA649B",
       "v": [
        1.0,
        2.6,
        4.6,
        7.4,
        15.0,
        16.7
       ]
      }
     ]
    }
   ],
   "src": [
    "fred"
   ]
  },
  {
   "id": "cmp",
   "type": "compare",
   "title": "Compare any two quarters",
   "sub": "Pick two quarters to see how far online's share moved.",
   "x": [
    "1999 Q4",
    "2000 Q1",
    "2000 Q2",
    "2000 Q3",
    "2000 Q4",
    "2001 Q1",
    "2001 Q2",
    "2001 Q3",
    "2001 Q4",
    "2002 Q1",
    "2002 Q2",
    "2002 Q3",
    "2002 Q4",
    "2003 Q1",
    "2003 Q2",
    "2003 Q3",
    "2003 Q4",
    "2004 Q1",
    "2004 Q2",
    "2004 Q3",
    "2004 Q4",
    "2005 Q1",
    "2005 Q2",
    "2005 Q3",
    "2005 Q4",
    "2006 Q1",
    "2006 Q2",
    "2006 Q3",
    "2006 Q4",
    "2007 Q1",
    "2007 Q2",
    "2007 Q3",
    "2007 Q4",
    "2008 Q1",
    "2008 Q2",
    "2008 Q3",
    "2008 Q4",
    "2009 Q1",
    "2009 Q2",
    "2009 Q3",
    "2009 Q4",
    "2010 Q1",
    "2010 Q2",
    "2010 Q3",
    "2010 Q4",
    "2011 Q1",
    "2011 Q2",
    "2011 Q3",
    "2011 Q4",
    "2012 Q1",
    "2012 Q2",
    "2012 Q3",
    "2012 Q4",
    "2013 Q1",
    "2013 Q2",
    "2013 Q3",
    "2013 Q4",
    "2014 Q1",
    "2014 Q2",
    "2014 Q3",
    "2014 Q4",
    "2015 Q1",
    "2015 Q2",
    "2015 Q3",
    "2015 Q4",
    "2016 Q1",
    "2016 Q2",
    "2016 Q3",
    "2016 Q4",
    "2017 Q1",
    "2017 Q2",
    "2017 Q3",
    "2017 Q4",
    "2018 Q1",
    "2018 Q2",
    "2018 Q3",
    "2018 Q4",
    "2019 Q1",
    "2019 Q2",
    "2019 Q3",
    "2019 Q4",
    "2020 Q1",
    "2020 Q2",
    "2020 Q3",
    "2020 Q4",
    "2021 Q1",
    "2021 Q2",
    "2021 Q3",
    "2021 Q4",
    "2022 Q1",
    "2022 Q2",
    "2022 Q3",
    "2022 Q4",
    "2023 Q1",
    "2023 Q2",
    "2023 Q3",
    "2023 Q4",
    "2024 Q1",
    "2024 Q2",
    "2024 Q3",
    "2024 Q4",
    "2025 Q1",
    "2025 Q2",
    "2025 Q3",
    "2025 Q4",
    "2026 Q1",
    "2026 Q2"
   ],
   "v": [
    0.6,
    0.8,
    0.9,
    1.0,
    1.0,
    1.1,
    1.1,
    1.1,
    1.2,
    1.3,
    1.4,
    1.5,
    1.5,
    1.6,
    1.7,
    1.8,
    1.9,
    2.0,
    2.0,
    2.1,
    2.2,
    2.3,
    2.4,
    2.5,
    2.6,
    2.7,
    2.8,
    2.9,
    3.1,
    3.2,
    3.3,
    3.5,
    3.5,
    3.6,
    3.6,
    3.6,
    3.6,
    3.8,
    3.9,
    4.1,
    4.1,
    4.2,
    4.4,
    4.6,
    4.6,
    4.7,
    4.8,
    4.9,
    5.1,
    5.2,
    5.3,
    5.5,
    5.6,
    5.6,
    5.8,
    5.9,
    6.1,
    6.2,
    6.3,
    6.5,
    6.6,
    6.9,
    7.0,
    7.2,
    7.4,
    7.7,
    7.8,
    8.0,
    8.2,
    8.4,
    8.7,
    8.9,
    9.1,
    9.4,
    9.6,
    9.7,
    9.9,
    10.0,
    10.3,
    10.8,
    11.2,
    11.9,
    16.3,
    14.9,
    15.0,
    14.9,
    14.6,
    14.5,
    14.6,
    14.4,
    14.2,
    14.5,
    14.6,
    15.0,
    15.3,
    15.4,
    15.5,
    15.9,
    16.1,
    16.2,
    16.2,
    16.0,
    16.3,
    16.4,
    16.7,
    17.0,
    17.1
   ],
   "f": {
    "d": 1,
    "s": "%"
   },
   "a": 80,
   "b": 106,
   "unit": "pts",
   "src": [
    "fred"
   ]
  },
  {
   "id": "guess",
   "type": "guess",
   "q": "Before you look: what share of US retail sales happened online in Q2 2026?",
   "min": 0,
   "max": 50,
   "step": 0.5,
   "start": 25,
   "a": 17.1,
   "f": {
    "d": 1,
    "s": "%"
   },
   "reveal": "The answer is 17.1% (US Census Bureau, seasonally adjusted). Online keeps setting records, but more than 4 of every 5 US retail dollars are still spent offline, and the total includes cars and gasoline.",
   "src": [
    "fred"
   ]
  }
 ],
 "url": "https://xenaintelligenceapp.com/xenalytics/us-ecommerce-share-of-retail",
 "publisher": "XENA Intelligence (Xenalytics)"
}