US' online retail hits record $1.3 tn in 2023: Study

Among specific categories, online spending on apparel and accessories reached $204 billion in 2023. The year also saw growth in e-commerce outpace US inflation rates, roughly 4 per cent to 3 per cent, between the second and fourth quarters, as per the study.

The YoY growth in online spending was significant across all quarters, with desktop platforms showing particularly strong performance compared to mobile. In the first quarter of 2023, total digital sales reached $293 billion, experiencing a 22 per cent increase with desktop sales at $189.7 billion and mobile sales at $103.4 billion. The second quarter followed with a total of $305.5 billion, marking a 19 per cent increase, where desktop sales comprised $206.5 billion and mobile sales $99 billion. The third quarter continued the trend with a total of $306.8 billion in sales, an 18 per cent increase, with desktop contributing $202.8 billion and mobile $104.1 billion. The year closed with the fourth quarter totalling $389.2 billion in sales, up 17 per cent, with desktop sales leading at $247.8 billion compared to mobile’s $141.4 billion.

Interestingly, the fourth quarter of 2023 marked a pivotal moment as desktop spending growth (21.1 per cent) outpaced mobile spending growth (10.9 per cent) for the first time in several years. This contrasts with the fourth quarter of 2022, where mobile spending rose 26.3 per cent YoY, compared to 13.5 per cent for desktop. This shift suggests that mobile may have reached its peak share of digital sales, which declined to 36.3 per cent in 2023 from 38.4 per cent in 2022.

Additional insights from the comScore study highlight that the distribution of consumer online spending in the fourth quarter by month remained largely unchanged from previous years: October accounted for 29 per cent, November for 37 per cent, and December for 34 per cent.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)