Will U.S. Retail Sales Hit $5 Trillion in 2016?
According to the latest industry data, retail sales in the US grew 3.3 percent in 2015 and eMarketer estimates that growth “will pick up slightly next year to 3.5 percent.”
And that’s not all. eMarketer’s latest forecast of retail and ecommerce sales around the world suggests that total retail sales in North America reached $5.254 trillion, including $4.785 trillion in sales in the US alone.
“More than a fifth of the world’s retail sales occurred in the U.S. this year,” notes eMarketer.
For 2016? That’s when U.S. retail sales will approach $5 trillion.
“Despite steady growth of 3 percent, which puts the U.S. ahead of Canada’s rate of increase, the country’s retail market will lose share of the worldwide total over eMarketer’s forecast period as the retail sector in developing markets grows more quickly.”
The vast majority of the nearly $5 trillion in U.S. retail sales still occur in brick-and-mortar stores.
This year, retail ecommerce accounted for just 7.1 percent of all retail sales in the U.S. But change is coming. By 2019, eMarketer estimates, 9.8 percent of U.S. retail sales will be transacted over the internet.
