The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce said U.S. online retail sales estimates in the third quarter were $11.06 billion, up 7.8 percent from $10.27 billion in the April-to-June period.
Third-quarter numbers were up 34.3 percent from the same quarter last year, when online retail sales were estimated at $8.23 billion. About 11,000 retailers were surveyed, with sales weighted and benchmarked to represent the more than 2 million retailers nationwide.
E-commerce in the third quarter accounted for 1.3 percent of the total retail sales of $827.5 billion, up from 1.2 percent in the second quarter and 1.1 percent in third-quarter 2001.
Unlike other Commerce Department indicators, estimates were not adjusted for seasonal, holiday and trading-day differences. Nor did the report include online travel services, financial brokers and dealers, and ticket sales agencies, which are not classified as retail under department rules.
The Census Bureau defines e-commerce sales as sales of goods and services where an order is placed by the buyer or price and terms are negotiated over the Internet, extranet, an electronic data exchange network, e-mail or any other online system. Payment may or may not be made online.
