U.S eCommerce Sales & Share by Category

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By Tricia McKinnon

Jeff Bezos once said that to become a $200 billion company Amazon needs to figure out food. With 3.2% of food and beverage sales taking place online it remains one of the least penetrated eCommerce categories. That is because people still like to see and touch their produce and meat in person before buying it. And that is one of the reasons why Amazon went offline and purchased Whole Foods, created Amazon Go convenience stores and is opening a chain of supermarkets this year. 

eCommerce Share of U.S. Retail Sales By Category (2020)

  1. Books, Music & Video – 54.9%

  2. Computer & Consumer Electronics – 42.7% 

  3. Toys & Hobby – 36.8%

  4. Apparel & Accessories – 28.9%

  5. Office Equipment & Supplies – 26.6%

  6. Furniture & Home Furnishings – 23.5%

  7. Health, Personal Care & Beauty – 11.1%

  8. Auto & Parts – 3.9%

  9. Food & Beverage – 3.2%

  10. Other Categories – 24%     

U.S. Retail eCommerce Sales by Category (2022 E)

  1. Computer & Consumer Electronics – $190.31 Billion

  2. Apparel & Accessories – $181.20 Billion

  3. Furniture & Home Furnishings – $92.69 Billion

  4. Auto & Parts – $81.64 Billion

  5. Health, Personal Care & Beauty - $75.01 Billion

  6. Books, Music & Video – $60.76 Billion

  7. Toys & Hobby – $57. 03 Billion

  8. Food & Beverage – $32.63 Billion

  9. Office Equipment & Supplies – $24.44 Billion

  10. Other Categories – $88.67 Billion

Source: eMarketer, 2019; Statista, 2020

Despite its small base, online sales of food and beverage products holds promise.  It is estimated that food and beverage eCommerce sales will grow at a rate of 22.4% in 2020, making it the fastest growing eCommerce category in the U.S. 

Close to the other end of the spectrum the apparel and accessories category has responded well to eCommerce. Direct to consumer retailers like Stitch Fix, ThirdLove and MMLaFleur have used programs like try before you buy to entice consumers to buy online with great success. Consumers’ comfort with buying apparel online, while not through the roof has caused Amazon to surpass Walmart as the most shopped clothing retailer in the United States.

The only category with an eCommerce penetration rate above 50% is books, music and video. Many other categories have relatively low penetration rates signaling that consumers still prefer to shop using a mix of online and offline channels.

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Tricia McKinnoneCommerce