ComScore: Q2 Online Spending Foreshadows Strong 2013

By Pete Rizzo, Editor (@pete_rizzo_)

ComScore revealed that U.S. retail eCommerce spending declined to $49.8 billion for the second quarter of 2013 in its latest quarterly trends report released on August 8. This figure was down slightly from the $50.9 billion in online retail spending that was observed during the first quarter of 2013. 

Still, despite the quarterly dip, retail eCommerce spending surged 16 percent from the second quarter of 2012 when consumers spent $43.2 billion on digital retail purchases.

The report marked the 15th consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and the 11th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth for retail eCommerce.

ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said in an August 8 release that he believes that the findings reflect the long-term shift toward digital commerce currently underway in the economy. He noted that the results are consistent with recent reports that suggest consumer sentiment is improving.

The report provided ample evidence to support this claim. 

ComScore showed that retail eCommerce spending had increased nearly 63 percent since the second quarter of 2008, five years earlier, when U.S. consumers spent just $30 billion on online retail items. 

ECommerce accounted for 9.6 percent of consumer discretionary spending during the second quarter of 2013, the highest the Virginia-based market analyst had observed during any second quarter on record.

The top performing retail categories for the quarter were Apparel & Accessories, Digital Content & Subscriptions, Sport & Fitness, Consumer Packaged Goods and Home & Garden. ComScore said each category was up at least 19 percent from figures observed during the same time last year.

The slew of positive findings led Fulgoni to predict that eCommerce merchants should anticipate a positive end to 2013. 

“This strength is particularly significant since the second quarter tends to be seasonally lighter for eCommerce, and, as such, represents a positive indicator for the back half of the year,” Fulgoni said.

For a closer look at comScore’s mCommerce statistics, click here.