Study: E-commerce pushes office & school supply sales up in 2014

Port Washington, N.Y. – Office and school supplies generally do not have any issues with fit or texture, making them an ideal e-commerce item. Data from the NPD Group backs this assertion up.



Retail spending on office and school supplies grew 1% in 2014 (52 weeks ending January 3, 2015) compared to 2013, with e-commerce serving as the push behind the increase. The e-commerce channel crossed the billion-dollar threshold for the first time, reaching $1.1 billion in sales, and was the only channel to experience growth across all categories.



Although brick-and-mortar holds the lion’s share of the retail market (91% in terms of dollar share), online captured 1% of its share in 2014, translating to 15% overall growth in sales, while brick-and-mortar sales remained flat, at $10.6 billion. The top growth drivers within both channels also differed, although Coloring & Art proved to be a popular category among both brick and click.