Quarterly US Retail eCommerce Sales for 1Q09

The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce has announced that its estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the first quarter of 2009, adjusted for seasonal variation, but not for price changes, was $31.7 billion, an increase of 0.7 percent (±1.1%)* from the fourth quarter of 2008.

The first quarter 2009 e commerce estimate decreased 5.4 percent (±2.5%) from the first quarter of 2008 while total retail sales decreased 10.2 percent (±0.4%) in the same period. E-commerce sales in the first quarter of 2009 accounted for 3.5 percent of total sales.

Total retail sales for the first quarter of 2009 were estimated at $909.6 billion, a decrease of 1.8 percent (±0.4%) from the fourth quarter of 2008.