E-commerce growth remains resilient
Consumers spent $331.6 billion online from Jan. 1 to Apr. 30, 2024, up 7% year-over-year (YoY). The growth has been supported by stable spend in discretionary categories including electronics and apparel, along with a continued surge in grocery shopping online. Adobe expects the first half of 2024 to drive over $500 billion in spend online, representing 6.8% YoY growth.
In the first four months of the year, consumers spent $61.8 billion online for electronics (up 3.1% YoY) and $52.5 billion for apparel (up 2.6% YoY). Despite the modest YoY uptick, both categories account for 34.5% of overall e-commerce spend and helped maintain topline growth. This was further bolstered by groceries, which drove $38.8 billion online and rose significantly at 15.7% YoY growth.
Another rising category online has been cosmetics, which Adobe is profiling for the first time; the category drove $35 billion in online spend in 2023, with YoY growth at 15.6%. The upward trend has continued, with consumers spending $13.2 billion online for cosmetics in 2024 thus far, up 8% YoY.
“In an unpredictable economic environment, the latest data from Adobe Analytics shows continued resilience in the digital economy, as consumers embrace new categories online,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst, Adobe Digital Insights. “Groceries is a standout, and Adobe expects that in the next three years, the category will be a dominant force in e-commerce that is on par with electronics and apparel in revenue share.”
