Auctionbytes-NewsFlash, Number 6 - August 26, 2003 - ISSN

The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced last week that the estimate of U.S. retail ecommerce sales for the second quarter of 2003, not adjusted for seasonal, holiday, and trading-day differences, was $12.477 billion, an increase of 27.8 percent (±4.3%) from the second quarter of 2002.

Total retail sales for the second quarter of 2003 were estimated at $858.8 billion, an increase of 4.9 percent (±0.3%) from the same period a year ago.

The second quarter 2003 ecommerce estimate increased 4.6 percent (±1.1%) from the first quarter of 2003 while total retail sales increased 11.2 percent (±0.5%) from the prior quarter.

E-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2003 accounted for 1.5 percent of total sales, while in the second quarter of 2002 e-commerce sales were 1.2 percent of total sales. In the first quarter of 2003 ecommerce sales were 1.5 percent of total sales.