Dive Brief:
- Despite fluctuating economic conditions, online sales rose 7% year over year between Jan. 1 and April 30 to $331.6 billion, according to an Adobe Analytics report released Thursday. Adobe anticipates that e-commerce sales within the first half of the year will grow 6.8% compared to last year to over $500 billion.
- The share of cheap goods increased “significantly,” per the report, with consumers “trading down to cheaper goods online,” due in part to continued inflation.
- Personal care products saw the highest year-over-year sales increase at 96%, followed by electronics (64%), apparel (47%), home and garden (42%), furniture and bedding (42%) and grocery purchases (33%). Meanwhile, other categories saw lower growth in cheaper goods’ sales, including sporting goods (up 28%), appliances (26%), tools and home improvement products (26%) and toys (25%), Adobe found.
Dive Insight:
Looking ahead to the end of the year, Adobe forecasts that consumers’ mobile shopping will continue. The report projects that mobile shopping will comprise 52.5% of online shopping revenue during this year’s holiday season. Last year, revenue share from holiday mobile shopping eclipsed desktop for the first time. Shoppers also set a “new record” in e-commerce spending from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, rising 4.9% year over year to $222.1 billion.
Research at the end of last year suggested that shoppers were open to purchasing more goods online in 2024. Almost half of respondents to a December Bank of a America survey stated that they planned to spend more online in the new year, with convenience being the top driver of that decision. Additionally, nearly 30% of respondents cited low prices as the most important feature in online shopping.
Adobe’s findings add more context to how consumers are spending amid economic uncertainty. Inflation, for example, continues to fluctuate. Inflation saw a slight bump from February 3.2% year over year to 3.5% in March, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index.
“In an unpredictable economic environment, the latest data from Adobe Analytics shows continued resilience in the digital economy, as consumers embrace new categories online,” Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement. “Groceries is a standout, and Adobe expects that in the next three years, the category will be a dominant force in e-commerce that is on par with electronics and apparel in revenue share.”
