US E-Commerce Sales to Jump 18% in 2020, but Not Enough to Offset Retail’S Decline | Techcrunch
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
9/22/2020 US e-commerce sales to jump 18% in 2020, but not enough to offset retail’s decline | TechCrunch US e-commerce sales to jumJopin E1xt8ra% in Login 2020, but not enough to offsCerutnc rhetail’s decline Sarah Perez Search @sarahintampa / 10:42 am EDT • June 8, 2020 Disrupt 2020 Startups Videos Disrupt Videos Audio Newsletters Extra Crunch The TC List Advertise Events — More Image Credits: Sari Montag / Flickr under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license. U.S. e-commerce sales will jump 18% this year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that forced more shoppers online, according to a new forecast released today by eMarketer i . However, the surge in new online orders won’t make up for the overall hit that the U.S. retail sector will take this year, the firm noted. The analysts estimate that total U.S. retail sales, which also includes auto and fuel, will drop by 10.5% in 2020 to $4.894 trillion — a level not seen since 2016. This is also steeper than the 8.2% drop last seen in 2009, amid the recession. “This is the sharpest consumer spending freeze in decades in the U.S.,” said eMarketer senior forecasting analyst Cindy Liu, in a report. ‘In just a couple weeks, as Americans sheltered in place, retail sales fell dramatically in March. With sales hitting their lowest point https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/08/u-s-e-commerce-sales-to-jump-18-in-2020-but-not-enough-to-offset-retails-decline/ 1/10 9/22/2020 US e-commerce sales to jump 18% in 2020, but not enough to offset retail’s decline | TechCrunch of the year in Q2, it will take years before consumer activity returns to normal levels,” she predicted. Join Extra Login Crunch The Daily Crunch Sign up Tech's biggest headlines Search Disrupt 2020 In fact, the forecast estimates total retail sales won’t rebound to prepandemic levels (i.e., Startups 2019 levels) until 2022. Videos Disrupt Videos Audio Newsletters Extra Crunch The TC List Advertise Events — More Physical retail is weighing down overall retail in the long term. This year, brick-and-mortar retail sales will fall by 14% to $4.184 trillion. And it may take up to five years for offline sales to return to prepandemic levels. E-commerce hasn’t been strong enough to offset those losses — it’s only mitigating the severity of retail’s decline, the report said. In 2020, e-commerce sales will climb by 18% to https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/08/u-s-e-commerce-sales-to-jump-18-in-2020-but-not-enough-to-offset-retails-decline/ 2/10 9/22/2020 US e-commerce sales to jump 18% in 2020, but not enough to offset retail’s decline | TechCrunch reach $709.78 billion, representing 14.5% of total U.S. retail sales. The report didn’t delve deeply into the contributing factors as to why overall retail sales will Join Extra remain down despite stores reopening, but these would include the obvious impacLtso greinlated Crunch to a coronavirus-triggered recession — like job losses and job insecurity, both of which prompt consumers to quell their spending. In addition, many consumers still continue to avoid brick-and-mortar retail entirely, instead only ordering their Sesesaerncthials online. Plus, with many consumers now working from home, apparel and accessories sales have taken a heavy hit. Disrupt 2020 Startups The apparel and accessories category is typically the second-largest in e-commerce, for Videos example, but will only grow 8.6% as consumers shift spending away from discretionary, Disrupt Videos non-essential purchases. Audio Meanwhile, other e-commerce categories including food and beNveerwagsele atntedrs health/beauty/personal care are up by much more — the former Ebxyt r5a8 .C5r%un acnhd the latter by 32.4%. The TC List Advertise Events — More https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/08/u-s-e-commerce-sales-to-jump-18-in-2020-but-not-enough-to-offset-retails-decline/ 3/10 9/22/2020 US e-commerce sales to jump 18% in 2020, but not enough to offset retail’s decline | TechCrunch “Everything we’re seeing with e-commerce is unprecedented, with growth rates expected to surpass anything we’ve seen since the Great Recession,” said Andrew Lipsman, eMarketer principal analyst. “Certain e-commerce behaviors like online grocJeoryin s Ehoxptrpaing and click- Login and-collect have permanently catapulted three or four years into Cthreu nfucthure in just three or four months,” he added. The shift to online grocery has been particularly beneficial to WaSlmeaarrtc, whhich typically cites online grocery as a contributing factor to its overall e-commerce sales growth. Emarketer’s new report also noted that Walmart will, for the first time, surpasDs iesBruayp ta s2 0th2e0 No. 2 e- commerce retailer in the U.S, behind Amazon i . It expects WalmStaartr twuiplls see its e-commerce sales jump by more than 35% in 2020, growing to claim a 5.8% Vshidaereo osf the U.S. e- commerce market. Disrupt Videos Audio Target, Best Buy, The Home Depot and Costco will grow as well. Newsletters Extra Crunch But Amazon, as expected, will outpace the lot. The TC List Advertise “Amazon will increase its e-commerce market share to 38% and extend its reign of Events dominance,” Lipsman said. — More TC Sessions: Mobility 2020 Mobility expo tickets now available Virtual Event Oct 6 - 7 https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/08/u-s-e-commerce-sales-to-jump-18-in-2020-but-not-enough-to-offset-retails-decline/ 4/10 9/22/2020 US e-commerce sales to jump 18% in 2020, but not enough to offset retail’s decline | TechCrunch Just $25 Join Extra Login Crunch Sign up for Newsletters See all newsletters Search The Daily Crunch Disrupt 2020 Week in Review Startups Startups Weekly Videos Event Updates Disrupt Videos Audio Human Capital Newsletters Sponsorship Insider Extra Crunch Extra Crunch Announcements The TC List Extra Crunch Events Advertise Extra Crunch Roundup Events — More Email * Subscribe Tags eCommerce Amazon coronavirus COVID-19 e-commerce emarketer online shopping retail trends TC Sessions: Mobility 2020 Introducing the Expo Pass for TC Sessions: Mobility 2020 Alexandra Ames 11:41 am EDT • September 22, 2020 https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/08/u-s-e-commerce-sales-to-jump-18-in-2020-but-not-enough-to-offset-retails-decline/ 5/10 9/22/2020 US e-commerce sales to jump 18% in 2020, but not enough to offset retail’s decline | TechCrunch HMD is bringing a 5G smartphone and wireless earbuds to the US Brian Heater Join Extra 11:30 am EDT • September 22, 2020 Login Crunch Event discovery network IRL raises $16M SeriesSearch B after refocusing on virtual events Sarah Perez Disrupt 2020 11:28 am EDT • September 22, 2020 Startups Videos Disrupt Videos Bose introduces a new pair of sleep-focused Audio earbuds Newsletters Brian Heater Extra Crunch 11:25 am EDT • September 22, 2020 The TC List Advertise Events HubSpot’s new end-to-end sales hub aims to — simplify CRM for mid-market customers More Ron Miller 11:15 am EDT • September 22, 2020 Mailchimp launches new AI tools as it continues its transformation to marketing platform Frederic Lardinois 11:10 am EDT • September 22, 2020 Microsoft challenges Twilio with the launch of Azure Communication Services Frederic Lardinois 11:00 am EDT • September 22, 2020 Microsoft Azure launches new availability zones in Canada and Australia Frederic Lardinois 11:00 am EDT • September 22, 2020 https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/08/u-s-e-commerce-sales-to-jump-18-in-2020-but-not-enough-to-offset-retails-decline/ 6/10 9/22/2020 US e-commerce sales to jump 18% in 2020, but not enough to offset retail’s decline | TechCrunch Join Extra Login Crunch Microsoft brings data services to its Arc multi- Search cloud management service Frederic Lardinois Disrupt 2020 11:00 am EDT • September 22, 2020 Startups Videos Disrupt Videos Microsoft launches new Cortana features for Audio business users Newsletters Frederic Lardinois Extra Crunch 11:00 am EDT • September 22, 2020 The TC List Advertise Events Microsoft Teams gets breakout rooms, custom — layouts and virtual commutes More Frederic Lardinois 11:00 am EDT • September 22, 2020 Microsoft launches Premonition, its hardware and software platform for detecting biological threats Frederic Lardinois 11:00 am EDT • September 22, 2020 Microsoft launches Azure Orbital to connect satellites to its cloud Frederic Lardinois 11:00 am EDT • September 22, 2020 Microsoft brings new robotic process automation features to its Power Platform Frederic Lardinois 11:00 am EDT • September 22, 2020 https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/08/u-s-e-commerce-sales-to-jump-18-in-2020-but-not-enough-to-offset-retails-decline/ 7/10 9/22/2020 US e-commerce sales to jump 18% in 2020, but not enough to offset retail’s decline | TechCrunch Join Extra Login Crunch Microsoft updates its Endpoint Manager with Search improved macOS support and more Frederic Lardinois Disrupt 2020 11:00 am EDT • September 22, 2020 Startups Videos Disrupt Videos Microsoft’s Edge browser is coming to Linux in Audio October Newsletters Frederic Lardinois Extra Crunch 11:00 am EDT • September 22, 2020 The TC List Advertise Events How to watch Tesla’s double hitter shareholder — meeting and battery day event More Kirsten Korosec 10:57 am EDT • September 22, 2020 Extra Crunch Join Accel’s Andrew Braccia and Sonali De Rycker for a live Q&A today at 2 pm EDT/11 am PDT Alex Wilhelm 10:48 am EDT • September 22, 2020 Amazon taps Echelon for the Prime Bike, a $500 Peloton knock-off Matt Burns 10:41 am EDT • September 22, 2020 https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/08/u-s-e-commerce-sales-to-jump-18-in-2020-but-not-enough-to-offset-retails-decline/ 8/10 9/22/2020 US e-commerce sales to jump 18% in 2020, but not enough to offset