Brick And Mortar Sales Grew Faster Than E-Commerce In 2021

The US Department of Commerce Retail Indicator Division, released the December 2021 Monthly Retail Trade Report on Wednesday February 16th, giving a complete picture of 2021. The top-line number is that US retail sales for 2021 were $5.6 trillion, representing 17.9% growth from the previous year. 2021 was one of the strongest years in US retail history, growing more than twice as fast as any of the previous 30 years.

Brick and mortar stores grew faster than e-commerce for the first time ever, with physical stores growing at 18.7% versus e-commerce growth of 12.9%. That 12.9% growth is slightly above the typical annual growth rate, but much lower than the 25.3% growth e-commerce experienced in 2020.

Comparing 2021 to before the pandemic, retail sales were 19.1% higher than 2019. During the same two-year period, e-commerce grew 41%.

Before the pandemic, in 2019, e-commerce sales represented 12.3% of all retail sales. In the midst of the pandemic in 2020 with many consumers avoiding trips to the store, e-commerce grew to 15% of all retail sales. In 2021, e-commerce share of retail sales dipped to 14.3%. Hardly the ten years of accelerated e-commerce growth that some predicted.

Looking forward, eMarketer predicts that total retail sales will grow 3% and e-commerce will grow 14.1% in 2022, a return to pre-pandemic growth rates.