eMarketer: Led by mobile, digital sales growth set for another record year

A record 68% of the U.S. population will make at least one purchase via a digital channel in 2017.



That’s according to eMarketer’s 2017 Retail Outlook, which projects another strong year for digital growth. The report forecasts that e-commerce sales will increase 16.0% in 2017 to $462.17 billion, while total retail sales will grow 3.5% to $5.01 trillion.



Increasingly, mobile commerce, or m-commerce, is accounting for a bigger share of online growth. Mobile sales will skyrocket 35.5% this year, to $157.14 billion, and account for 3.1% of total retail sales, according to the forecast.



In other projections from eMarketer’s report:



• As in years past, apparel and accessories will capture the largest share of online spending, accounting for 18.7% in 2017. Computers and electronics will capture the second-highest share, with 16.7% this year. Food and beverage, at 2.5%, will capture the lowest share.



• The bulk (65.0%) of m-commerce this year will come from smartphones, which will continue to capture a bigger segment of the category’s growth. Meantime, tablets’ portion of m-commerce will continue to decline.



• The largest share of digital buyers (20.5%) are between 25 and 34, followed by 35-44 year olds and 45-54 year olds.



• In 2017 there will be 147.33 million mobile buyers (14 and over), up 8.06% over last year. And 64.6% of those mobile buyers will use a smartphone to make the purchase.