Ecommerce Share of Retail Sales: Growth Trends, Data & Forecasts (2026)

TL/DR summary

Global online share crossed 20% in 2024 and is projected to reach 22.9% by 2028; the US tracks at 16.2% (2024) on a path to 20.0% (2028). Q2 2025 showed e-commerce gaining share (16.3% seasonally adjusted) as ecommerce sales outgrew total. Use quarterly estimates to tune labor, media, and inventory.

Key pointers:

• Watch the Census Bureau department release each quarter; build plans on the seasonally adjusted series.

• Expect a steady increase in share across the forecast window; align promo timing with first-quarter refunds and second-quarter graduations.

• Balance online and store: let repeats flow through e-commerce; use stores for discovery and service.

• Track price, architecture, and delivery promise; small price changes can move the share in sensitive categories like electronics.

Keep your overview tight, your statistics clean, and your execution boringly excellent; the mix will do the rest.

Ecommerce Share trend, global vs US (2022–2028)

Introduction

For leaders, the signal inside the e-commerce noise is the relative mix: how much of total retail sales is digitally transacted, and how quickly that mix is shifting by quarter. Reading the statistic (the ecommerce share of retail sales) helps calibrate inventory, ad budgets, and store labor. In the US, retail e-commerce continues to gain ground even as stores remain essential, and the cadence of change matters more than any single data point. This growth rate in online shopping is a glimpse of consumer behavior in the modern market.

Below, we convert estimates and report highlights into an operator’s playbook, with simple explanations of what the rising percentage means for demand capture.

A simple overview of the share metric

The share is the ratio of retail e-commerce sales to total retail. Think of it as the slice of sales transacted online. Tracking it by year and by quarter shows adoption and helps retailers compare performance to industry baselines.

Global context: Rising digital mix

Globally, the digital mix rises steadily as devices, access, and payments improve.

• Global share by year: 18.6% (2022), 19.4% (2023), 20.1% (2024), 20.8% (2025), 21.5% (2026), 22.2% (2027), 22.9% (2028).

• Interpretation: Roughly 0.7 percentage‑point increases per period, implying a predictable growth slope operators can plan around.

• Implication: International portfolios should compare countries; China often runs ahead of the US mix, while other countries lag based on infrastructure and internet adoption.

United States: Level and momentum

The US runs below the global mix but is compounding upward.

• US share by year: 14.4% (2022), 15.3% (2023), 16.2% (2024), 17.1% (2025), 18.0% (2026), 19.0% (2027), 20.0% (2028).

• For every dollar spent in retail, roughly one‑sixth was online in 2024; by 2028, one in five purchases is expected to be online.

• Keep store staffing calibrated for service and pickup while letting ecommerce sales handle repeat orders.

Quarter‑by‑quarter: Reading census signals

To manage the business, watch the Census Bureau release each quarter. The Q2 reads blend demand and seasonal variation.

• Second quarter 2025 (Census department release Aug 19, 2025): Estimated e-commerce $304.2B and total sales $1,865.4B (seasonally adjusted, not for price changes). Share 16.3%; ecommerce outpaced retail growth (ecommerce increased 5.3% YoY vs 3.9%).

• Not adjusted: Q2 2025 share 15.5% as spring promotions lift online and store traffic differently.

• First quarter 2025 to second quarter 2025 step‑up: e-commerce up 1.4% QoQ vs total up 0.4%. It is a signal of a mixed shift.

• Same quarter prior year (Q2 2024): baseline for comparison in planning and bonus targets; use it to judge channel contribution.

• Tactics: use seasonally adjusted series for weekly run‑rate expectations; use not‑adjusted for promo timing and tax‑refund effects in the first quarter and summer lull in the last quarter.

What drives the share: Practical levers

Mix moves are not abstract; they respond to levers that managers control.

• Access: App performance, payment services, and delivery promise raise conversion.

• Price & price changes: When fuel or freight spikes, basket thresholds and order fees can compress or expand the share.

• Category sensitivity: Electronics and bulky categories migrate faster online; experiential and urgent items skew to the store.

• Mobile: M-commerce matters for convenience; optimize session speed and buyer flows for online shoppers.

Visual: Share trend, global vs US (2022–2028)

Let us look at a dual‑line chart comparing the global and US mix, which is embedded below.

Closing remarks: Where the mix is headed next

The practical takeaway is simple: measure the mix and manage it. As US retail e-commerce sales rise from mid‑teens percent toward one‑in‑five by 2028, winning operators will use EDI discipline, store‑linked fulfillment, and precise report reads to harvest margin. Treat e-commerce as a growth engine and stores as a trust engine; together they compound.

Keep an eye on the second quarter and holiday cadence, keep your statistic pack current, and let the mix (not anecdotes) steer investments.

Reference Sources

• Ecommerce Share of Retail Sales (2022–2028) - Oberlo
• Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales (Census Bureau)