At the beginning of 2017, ecommerce made up 8.5% of all retail sales. Over the next three years, that figure rose to 11.3% for a raw increase of 2.8% of the share of total retail sales.

The first quarter of 2020 saw an increase of 0.5%, the largest increase in a single period since this data has been tracked. While many stores have reopened, ecommerce continues to surge.

The ecommerce data for Q1 2020 barely included any of the pandemic shopping response. Most consumers didn't change behavior until nearly the end of March 2020. Since that time, digital commerce sales have surged. The new data will be released soon and my expectation is that number will come in at 12.5% for a gain of 0.7% of total sales.

There will be a time when this stat becomes meaningless as the lines between traditional retail and ecommerce sales continue to blur. This year will be the first that the trend curves upward and ecommerce makes leaps as a percent of total retail sales.