Online spending in June grows past inflation
E-commerce retailers had a happy start to the summer.
According to the latest Signifyd E-commerce Pulse data for June 2024, e-commerce sales were up 8% year-over-year, driven by strong performance in the grocery and general merchandise categories leading the way.
The higher spending came during a month when the Signifyd E-commerce Consumer Price Index dropped 1.14% compared to June 2023. All retail categories tracked by Signifyd showed
According to Signifyd, a decline in prices likely contributed to increased sales in general merchandise, which was up 30% year-over-year in June, and apparel, which increased 8% from the same month in the prior year. The general merchandise category consists of items sold online by retailers classified as department stores.
Conversely, in the leisure and outdoor category, prices increased nearly 4% year-over-year while sales dropped 2%.
| The state of ecommerce — June 2024 vs. June 2023 | ||
| Category | Sales change | Ecommerce CPI |
| Apparel | +8% | -2.71% |
| Auto parts | +1% | +1.53% |
| Beauty & cosmetics | -18% | +1.08% |
| Electronics | -10% | -3.4% |
| General merchandise | +30% | -2.71% |
| Home goods | Unchanged | 0.52% |
| Leisure & outdoor | -2% | +3.74% |
| Luxury goods | +4% | -12.16% |
| All categories | +8% | -1.14% |
[READ MORE: Retail sales better than expected in June]
“While online prices historically have been deflationary, that hasn’t consistently been the case in recent years,” Signifyd senior data analyst Phelim Killough said. “June’s overall lower e-commerce prices were driven primarily by dramatic decreases in high-priced categories like electronics and luxury goods and by high-volume categories, namely apparel and general merchandise.”
Signifyd’s Ecommerce Pulse data is derived from transactions on Signifyd’s Commerce Network of thousands of e-commerce retailers and brands.
Bread Financial: Inflation impacts consumer spending
Despite generally strong online sales performance tracked by Signifyd in June, a recent survey from Bread Financial indicates that more than half (54%) of consumers say they are taking steps to cut back their spending.
More than three-quarters (76%) of those surveyed say they are willing to trade down on quality for price to save money, with 40% reporting that they are cutting back on non-essential purchases to save money.
Bread Financial also noted that many consumers (42%) are reporting shopping at an even mix of online and in-store channels to find the best deals possible.
