E-commerce sales spiked nearly 93% in May

Dive Brief:

U.S. e-commerce sales jumped by 92.7% in May, according to a new SpendingPulse report from Mastercard. In April and May, consumers spent more than $53 billion via e-commerce in the U.S.
Mastercard's research also found that hardware sales and furniture sales increased in May. Year over year, online and in-store hardware sales rose by 36.2% in May, and furniture sales went up by 7.5%, per the report.
U.S. grocery sales increased by 9.2% year over year in May online and in-store, which Mastercard noted as the strongest grocery sales volume for the month of May in SpendingPulse history.

Dive Insight:

E-commerce, which has come to the forefront for retailers during the COVID-19 pandemic, is a bright spot in otherwise trying times for brands. While some nonessential retailers like GameStop have seen an e-commerce boost during the pandemic, others, like Zara, are rethinking their store footprint and closing locations in order to focus on digital sales.

Mastercard's research found that e-commerce sales in April and May comprised 22% of all retail sales, double last year's 11%. A recent eMarketer projection anticipates that U.S. retail sales will drop by 10.5% in 2020 overall, but e-commerce sales could see an 18% bump.

Echoing forecasts from analysts at Wedbush and Morgan Stanley, eMarketer's latest report doesn't point to digital sales making up for the losses of brick-and-mortar store closures. As online sales rise, the constraints of e-commerce are coming to the forefront, especially returns and supply chain snags. It's not clear how much consumer shopping behaviors will change, maybe permanently, because of the pandemic.

"The shift to digital ways of shopping has been undeniable, while everything else has been incredibly unpredictable," Steve Sadove, Mastercard senior advisor, said in a statement. "The question is what changes will stick around for the long-term. Investing in your home and shopping local are two recent trends. Heightened demand for touchless services is another, which could have tremendous impact on what stores actually look like and how they blend their online and brick and mortar footprints."