Online sales growth accelerates in Q2, Commerce Department reports
Online retail sales grew 20.7% in the second quarter to $31.8 billion from $26.3 billion in the second quarter of 2006, the Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce reports. Year-over-year growth in the first quarter was 18.8%. The figures are not adjusted for seasonal variance. Total retail sales on a not-adjusted basis grew 3.8% year over year to $1.03 trillion from $993 billion a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, the story was slightly different, with online sales growing 29.8% to $33.6 billion from $27.8 billion and total sales up 3.8% to $1 trillion from $975 billion.
Missing from the Commerce Department numbers are sales on eBay.com that could be construed as retail sales. Some observers believe that could be about 60% of eBay sales, which translates into about $31 billion.
The Commerce Department also reports that online sales now account for 3.1% of all retail sales. It derives that number, however, by simply dividing the online sales number by the total sales number. By doing so, the Commerce Department includes in its calculations many retail sales that are never likely to occur online, such as restaurant, convenience store, fuel and heating fuel sales. Internet Retailer estimates that controlling for those sales, online represents about 6% of all sales.
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