Ecommerce continues to surge to record levels. In the 2nd quarter, the percent of retail sales attributed to ecommerce grew by roughly three times the average year-over-year growth of the past 10 years. The pandemic has both increased the percent of retail spending done via digtal commerce and reduced overall spending.

From Marketplacepulse's article on the latest report from the Department of Commerce:

U.S. e-commerce grew 44.5% in the second quarter, the fastest growth in over two decades, lifting e-commerce share of total retail to 16.1%. According to the Department of Commerce, retailers generated $211 billion in online sales in the second quarter compared to $146 billion a year ago.

For the past ten years, e-commerce in the U.S. grew, on average, 15% year-over-year. Growth remained at that level during the first quarter of 2020 but has reached all-time highs in the second quarter at 44.5%.

This surpassed my prediction I made last month, stating that growth in 2020 will surpass that of the last ~3 years. Ecommmerce accounted for 16.1% of total retail sales in the second quarter. The share has never dropped, and rarely stayed flat from one quarter to the next.

It will be interesting to watch what happens over the next quarter, as many local businesses have reopened to varying degrees. My bet is that growth will continue and it will be over 20% by the end of the year. The economic problems posed by the pandemic are not equal, and will continue to favor digital commerce. New habits are being formed, and there's less reason to expect a regression as each day passes.