The official word on Q3 online sales growth: Up 34.3%
The official word on online retail sales is out and the picture is even rosier than some had expected: Online retail sales increased 34.3% to $11.06 billion in the third quarter of this year vs. last year’s Q3. That’s the report today from the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, widely regarded as the last word on retail sales.
Other researchers benchmark themselves against the Commerce Department numbers. ComScore Networks Inc. reported on Oct. 29 a 30% increase to $9.9 billion in Q3. BizRate.com Inc. reported on Oct. 3 that online sales in the third quarter grew 37% over last year’s third quarter to $10 billion.
The Census Bureau estimated total retail sales for the third quarter at $827.5 billion, an increase of 5.8% from the same period a year ago. The Bureau also reported that third quarter e-commerce sales increased 7.8% from the second quarter while total retail sales increased 0.3%.
E-commerce sales in the third quarter accounted for 1.3% of total sales up from 1.1% a year earlier. In the second quarter, e-commerce sales were 1.2% of total sales.
First nine months online retail sales stand at $31.2 billion, up 26% from $24.7 billion in last year`s first nine months.
The Census Bureau derives its number from a survey of 11,000 retailers. ComScore and BizRate obtain theirs from tracking consumers as they use the Internet.
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