E-commerce sales rise 5.7 percent

U.S. retail sales over the Internet rose by a seasonally adjusted 5.7 percent in the third quarter of 2005, a slightly slower growth rate than the second quarter, but captured a record high 2.3 percent share of total retail sales, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.

Purchases over the Internet, by e-mail or through other electronic networks rose to a seasonally adjusted $22.32 billion in the period from July through September. E-commerce sales captured 2.3 percent of total sales, beating the previous record of 2.2 percent set both in the first and second quarters of 2005.

The quarter-on-quarter growth rate was lower than the revised 7.0 percent growth rate in the second quarter. The third quarter e-commerce sales rose 26.7 percent over year-ago levels, however, a faster pace than the second quarter's 25.7 percent year-on-year growth rate.

Total retail sales grew only 1.8 percent during the third quarter versus the second quarter, to $957.86 billion. They were up 8.5 percent over year-ago levels.

Online shopping has grown steadily in popularity in the United States in recent years, with retailers offering Internet-only deals and shipping discounts and as consumers have come to trust the Internet for protecting financial information such as credit card account numbers.

E-commerce sales include goods and services negotiated via the Internet but exclude online travel services, ticket sales and the services of financial brokers and dealers. The United States began first publishing data on e-commerce transactions in 1999.

The government collects sales data from about 11,000 retail firms out of what it estimates to be over 2 million such companies.