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Economy
21 February
Ecommerce in 2022: Trillion-dollar sales make history, growth slows
In-person shopping growth outpaced ecommerce in 2022.

Ecommerce sales passed a big milestone in 2022, but also posted slowing growth in a year that was marked by a comedown from the pandemic boom.
The U.S. Commerce Department released the following data on ecommerce retail sales for the fourth quarter of 2022 and full year.
Q4 2022
On a quarterly basis, ecommerce sales of $262 billion declined 0.1% from the third quarter. This was less of a decline than overall retail sales, which fell 0.3%.
On an annual basis, retail sales grew 6.5% from the fourth quarter of 2021.
Ecommerce sales as a share of overall retail was 14.7%.
Full-year 2022
Ecommerce sales totaled $1,034.1 billion. That’s an increase of 7.7% from 2021. Totals came in below overall retail sales growth of 8.1%.
Ecommerce as a share of overall retail was 14.6%, which was even with the share in 2021.
Ecommerce retail sales (2013-2023)
Takeaways
Billion-dollar milestone: As widely expected, ecommerce sales crossed the twelve-figure mark. That’s the first time sales ever reached $1 trillion in a single year. The significant milestone is the result of massive growth during the pandemic-prompted shift to digital channels and demand for goods that has sustained into continued gains.
Slowing growth: In the fourth quarter, sales growth of 6.5% continued a downward trend in ecommerce growth, marking the low point of 2022. While online shopping is still making gains, the percentage growth is coming down markedly from the peak pandemic days. In the fourth of 2021, growth was 11.1%. It hasn’t reached double digits since. Even more notable is that the slowest growth of the past five quarters occurred in the three-month period that includes the holiday season, which is supposed to be boom time for retail.
Ecommerce as a share of overall retail. (2013-2023)
Return to stores: For only the second time ever, overall retail grew faster than ecommerce in 2022. While this may seem inevitable that was marked by the realization of pent-up demand for in-person shopping, it’s worth noting that the second year where overall retail grew faster came in the pandemic ecommerce boom of 2021, when demand for goods peaked and supply chain issues piled up. With the impact of the wild swings dissipating in 2023, it will be worth watching whether this trend line recalibrates accordingly.
Steady share: Ecommerce as a share of overall retail remained stable in 2022, while continuing to track with the steady gains it was making in the pre-pandemic years. While the share was flat with 2021, it’s worth noting that ecommerce did not lose ground in a year that was dominated by a return to in-person shopping, consumer pullback on discretionary spending that is the hallmark of ecommerce, a privacy-prompted digital advertising reset and a general course correction by major ecommerce platforms that were too flush with inventory, people and space following the pandemic boom. In some years, holding the line is a kind of win in its own right.
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Economy
10 March
The US economy added 311K new jobs in February
The labor market is hot. Will the Fed do more to cool it off?
The U.S. economy continued to add new jobs in February, as the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6%.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for February 2023 showed the following:
The economy added 311,000 new jobs, driven by gains in leisure and hospitality, retail trade, government, and health care.
Retail trade added 50,000 jobs in the month, driven by employment gains at general merchandise stores of 39,000.
Unemployment edged up to 3.6%.
Average hourly earnings rose by 8 cents, or 0.2%, to $33.09.
What it means for brands and retailers: In short, jobs are a key indicator of consumer demand, and they remain robust.
While the number of new jobs added was slightly below the 6-month average of 343,000 and January’s whopping gains of 504,000, the data provides another indication that the job market remains hot. Unemployment remains at historic lows, and has changed little over the last year despite ticking up slightly this month. Wages are still increasing, as well.
Overall, the jobs report keeps the narrative about the consumer picture the same: A healthy labor market is providing fuel to keep consumers spending, even as concerns about higher prices from inflation continue.What it means: In short, jobs are a key indicator of consumer demand, and they remain robust.
What it means for the Fed: This report could also influence how the Federal Reserve moves on interest rates, which are being hiked to bring inflation down and have the side effect of cooling demand.
The jobs report underscores the dual nature of any economic news at a time when high prices are continuing to put pressure on the economy as a whole. Economists are particularly concerned about data that showed consumer spending was up in January and global manufacturing output picked up in February. Put that together with the strong jobs report, and there are concerns that inflation will remain too hot, and the Fed will have no choice but to keep tightening to bring it down.
“Normally, a strong jobs report would be cause for celebration, but it can be hard to distinguish between ‘bad’ and ‘good’ economic news right now," said Joel Beal, CEO and CPG analyst at Alloy.ai. "Interest rate expectations are currently driving everything, so good economic numbers only increase the likelihood of higher interest rates, which escalates pessimism about future growth.”
In testimony before Congress this week, Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank may consider returning to a faster rate increase of 0.5% after slowing down to 0.25% in February.
“The latest economic data have come in stronger than expected, which suggests that the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated,” Mr. Powell said before the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday. “If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes.”
Another hot jobs report could bolster that case, but Powell said no final decision has yet been made.
In the bigger picture, Powell has suggested that it may be possible to bring down inflation without seeing unemployment rise. We'll get more data on whether that scenario is playing out when the government releases the latest Consumer Price Index next week.
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