Brick-and-mortar retailers who have to compete with online giant Amazon can take no solace from the figures released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday that showed that e-commerce sales had increased by 16.2% in third quarter to a seasonally-adjusted $78 billion dollars. That total represents 6.6% of the overall sales in the U.S. economy and represents a tripling of the e-commerce share in the past decade, which was at 2.1% in 2004.
The situation is even worse if the sales totals of such e-commerce resistant categories such as car dealers, restaurants, and gas stations are subtracted, which boosts e-commerce sales to 10% of overall sales. In areas that are directly affected by online competition, such as sales of computer hardware, online sales are already up to 25% of the total, and as for books, Bowker reported in 2013 that online sales account for 44% of all book sales in the U.S.
Meanwhile Amazon, which has had North American sales of $52 billion in the past year, continues to grow its share of e-commerce sales, which has now reached 18%, a share that has tripled since 2007 when it was 6%.
Amazon recently settled its dispute with Hachette (see "Amazon, Hachette Settle Long-Running Dispute"), which clears the way for Amazon to increase its dominance of e-book sales, but Amazon’s scope embraces much more than just digital books. In spite of the fact that the straight line upward growth of e-commerce sales will eventually bend as the categories that lend themselves to online sales become saturated, the Wall Street Journal reports a poll of industry analysts who estimate that Amazon’s sales "will grow by more than 20% annually over the next two years."
And Amazon Continues to Get the Biggest Share
Posted by ICv2 on November 19, 2014 @ 1:31 pm CT
MORE GAMES
For Fall
April 26, 2024
WizKids will release a new range of Critical Role Unpainted Miniatures for Fall.
With Excalibur and Holy Grail Promo Meeples
April 26, 2024
WizKids will release Tales of the Arthurian Knights, a standalone sequel to Z-Man’s Tales of the Arabian Nights, with Excalibur and Holy Grail Promo Meeples with every case.
MORE COMICS
From Marvel Comics
April 26, 2024
This landmark comic book special marks Marvel Comics’ first woman-to-woman wedding.
With a Mix of Manga and French Graphic Novels
April 26, 2024
The catalog will include both manga and French graphic novels.