The first-ever e-commerce sale was made in 1994 when a man sold his Sting CD to a friend via his website, called NetMarket. Although the first online sale was made in the US, e-commerce has expanded globally today, making retail shopping more accessible than it ever was.
Like every other aspect of life, the Covid-19 pandemic also affected retail e-commerce – an impact that experts are calling the Pandemic Economy. Even before the pandemic, finance experts expected e-commerce to reach a staggering $6.5 trillion in 2023.
But the pandemic put this advancement in first gear, forcing most of the global population to switch to online shopping. But what are consumers specifically buying?
Below, we discuss the retail categories that have seen massive growth and the possible reasons behind this change.
What Are the Popular Retail E-commerce Categories?
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that fashion is the most popular retail ecommerce category. In fact, the online expenditure on fashion is expected to be $795 billion in 2021. That alone accounts for 27.9% of the total retail e-commerce expenditure.
To put it simply, one out of every four dollars a consumer spends online is on fashion.
Second to fashion are DIY, hobby, and toys, which account for $590 billion of all the online sales. Together, fashion and hobby/toys make up a major chunk of retail e-commerce.
Meanwhile, the other three popular categories are:
- Electronics and Media: $542.4 billion
- Personal Care and Food: $468.5 billion
- Appliances and Furniture: $369.9 billion
Compared with the US, the global trends are pretty much the same except that electronics and media fall in second place. Moreover, Americans spend less on food and personal care than they do on appliances and furniture.
Meanwhile, fashion sales still top the charts, standing at $142.8 billion, making up 30.4% of US e-commerce revenue in 2021.
Retail Growth In the US
Since the pandemic, some retail categories have seen a greater boost than others, considering their immediate importance. Besides, panic buying also played a role in people stocking up things they previously bought minimal amounts of.
Emarketer forecasts the US apparel and accessories sales to go up by 30%, while the home furnishing and furniture sales are expected to rise by 11%. Moreover, office supplies and equipment will see a 9% growth in the US in 2021.
Apart from these categories, toys and hobby product sales will rise by 7.1%, health and beauty by 6%, auto and parts by 4.9%, consumer electronics and computer by 4.2%, food and beverages by 3.3%, and books/music by 3.1%.
Considering the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, these retail sales statistics make quite a lot of sense, especially the increase in online sales of personal care and health items.
In a survey, 69% of the consumers said they are now focusing more on their mental health and personal care since the pandemic made them contemplate their health.
Another Emarketer report forecasts consumer electronics/computers and books/video/music to be among the most popular retail categories in 2021.
Interestingly, this trend seems to be global since 36% of the respondents in a PWC survey said they are spending more on media and entertainment since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
The retail sales growth in these categories is justified since most people are still staying home due to the global travel restrictions and are looking for alternate channels of entertainment and leisure.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the pandemic has benefitted retail e-commerce – although it did quite the opposite for other businesses – since the US ecommerce sales are expected to grow by 13.7% rather than just 12.8%, which were forecasted before the pandemic.
Likewise, experts expected e-commerce to make up 13.2% of the total US retail sales, but the pandemic has boosted this figure to 15.5%.
Among all other categories, accessories and apparel sales will sky-rocket by 18.9%, while digital grocery apps are expected to increase the food and beverage revenue by 18.1%.
Since the pandemic has led many people to focus more on their personal health, it’s understandable why personal care and beauty sales are forecasted to go up by 16.1%.
Popular Retail Products
It’s also interesting to see which particular products are seeing growth in sales and which ones are slumping in terms of demand.
A Stackline analysis showed which products are experiencing significant growth in the US ever since the pandemic.
Disposable gloves saw a 670% increase in 2020 while bread machines’ growth went up by 652%, which is understandable considering social media’s sudden obsession with banana bread and baking during quarantine.
Other popular products included soups, milk, fruit cups, packaged foods, rice, dried grains, and dishwashing supplies. That’s panic buying at work!.
On the other hand, luggage, suitcases, cameras, briefcases, and bridal clothing saw a decline in demand, owing to the strict travel restrictions around the world. The closure of gyms also lowered the demand for gym bags by 57%.
Retail Growth Post Vaccination
Before the vaccine rollout in February, the National Retail Federation projected the retail sales to have a 6.5% growth in 2021.
However, they revised their report after the American Rescue Plan Act’s passing and projected the retail sales to total up to $4.56 trillion this year.
Among these, $1.09 to $1.13 trillion are expected to come from retail ecommerce.
As compared to the $920 billion coming from retail ecommerce in 2020, this is significant growth and the NRF’s Chief Economist, Jack Kleinhenz, is positive that this year will result in the country’s strong economic standing.
Conclusion
The Covid-19 pandemic affected retail sales growth globally and in the US, as evident from retail sales statistics. Buyers are spending more on fashion, accessories, personal care, electronics, beauty, health, and accessories than they ever were.
However, with mass vaccinations and businesses opening up again, it’s hard to tell whether these trends will remain eternal or change once the buyer frenzy is over. Either way, opening an ecommerce store has benefits that far outweigh the challenges.
