U.S. online sales up 30%, with groceries and sporting goods the biggest winners

Recently, the U.S. Department of Commerce released e-commerce spending data for 2020. The data showed that the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide ban on sales in the United States forced a large number of shoppers to switch to online shopping, which in turn led to a 32.4% increase in online sales in the United States to US$791.7 billion.

At the same time, total retail sales in the United States in 2020 increased by 3.4% compared to 2019. Among them, online retail sales accounted for the largest share. As of the end of 2020, e-commerce sales accounted for 14% of total US sales , up from 11% in 2019.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many physical stores were forced to close and people chose to stay indoors as much as possible to slow the spread of the pandemic, prompting American consumers to rely more on digital retailers, driving the rapid development of e-commerce in the United States.

Consumers are buying many products online that they might not have been sure about buying online, especially groceries, according to a chart released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Between the second and fourth quarters of 2020 , online purchases of food and beverage items grew more year-over-year than any other category.

People are also looking for new hobbies and activities to keep them entertained at home during the pandemic. Data shows that as of the second quarter of 2020, product categories including sporting goods, musical instruments and books grew significantly as the COVID-19 lockdown swept across the country.

In addition, other popular products purchased online include equipment for home decoration, such as furniture, gardening equipment, building supplies, etc., as well as health care products that people attach great importance to.

The shift to digital commerce has helped a range of major retailers gain, with online retailers like Walmart, Target , Best Buy and Home Depot all seeing strong growth during the coronavirus pandemic, not to mention pure online e-commerce companies like Etsy, Shopify and eBay.

As the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines accelerates and more states begin to lift COVID-19 restrictions, some consumers may return to shopping in physical stores. But some changes in consumer behavior, such as curbside pickup and use of online grocery delivery services , may persist after the pandemic .

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