According to the Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce, retail ecommerce sales in the U.S. grew in Q4 2021 (PDF), increasing by 1.7% from Q3 2021 to a seasonally adjusted 8.5 billion.
In Q4 2021, the ecommerce share of total U.S. retail sales stood at 12.9%, down from 13.6% in the same quarter in 2020.
Total U.S. retail sales — online and in-store — also grew in Q4 2021 to ,688.6 billion, up 2.5% from the previous quarter. The Department of Commerce defines ecommerce sales as “sales of goods and services where the buyer places an order, or the price and terms of the sale are negotiated over an Internet, mobile device (m‐commerce), extranet, electronic data interchange (EDI) network, electronic mail, or other comparable online system. Payment may or may not be made online.” Nonetheless, ecommerce sales climbed 9.4% in Q4 2021 compared to Q4 2020, while total retail sales increased by 15.2%.
