Comscore: E-commerce report 2023

U.S. e-commerce has passed a new milestone. In 2022, total e-commerce excluding travel exceeded $1 trillion for the first time, reaching $1.09 trillion.

This is up 21% from the 2021 total of $904.3 billion, and Q4 2022 also set a new record for the highest quarter ever for online retail, reaching $332.2 billion. This is more than 18% higher than the $281.3 billion set in Q4 2021.

Mobile device growth rates continue to outpace desktop, capturing a higher share of digital retail commerce. In Q4, mobile e-commerce grew 26.3% year-over-year, roughly double the rate of desktop e-commerce (+13.5%). This pushed mobile spending to $127.5 billion, bringing mobile’s share of total e-commerce spending to 38.4%, the highest level to date, following the previous high of 35.9% in Q4 2021.

The role of mobile is evident in some key categories. In the fourth quarter, approximately 88% of online spending on event tickets occurred on mobile devices, with this specific category being one of the main growth points, with an overall year-over-year growth rate of 68% in the fourth quarter.

Mobile devices also account for an above-average share of spending in the Grocery/Baby/Pets category (41%). This category achieved a 59% year-over-year growth rate in the fourth quarter and is the largest e-commerce category by revenue for the full year 2022, reaching $219 billion. In other words, more than a fifth of all e-commerce spending last year was spent in the online grocery category.

The second-largest e-commerce category last year was apparel and accessories, with total spending of $175 billion. Mobile spending on groceries has surpassed that on apparel since the first quarter of 2020, and while the gap narrowed in the fourth quarter of 2021, it has widened in 2022.

The only other category where total e-commerce spending surpassed the $100 billion mark last year was computers and peripherals, at $117 billion.

Finally, the fastest-growing e-commerce categories for all of 2022 were event tickets (+75%), digital content (+60%), apparel and accessories (+37%), video games and accessories (+31%), and home and garden (25%).