comScore Reports $50.2 Billion in Q1 2013 Desktop-Based U.S. Retail E-Commerce Spending, Up 13 Percent vs. Year Ago

RESTON, Va., May 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its estimates of Q1 2013 U.S. retail e-commerce sales. Q1 2013 sales grew 13 percent year-over-year to $50.2 billion, marking the fourteenth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and tenth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. It was also just the second quarter on record to surpass $50 billion in spending.

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"The first quarter of 2013 was fairly strong for online retailers, with total e-commerce sales surpassing $50 billion for only the second time on record," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "While the year-over-year growth rate of 13 percent remained healthy, it was a point or two below that of the preceding quarters. One potential explanation for this mild deceleration is the payroll tax increase, which went into effect in 2013 and which removed some disposal income from Americans' wallets. That said, as long as job growth continues and consumer sentiment remains positive, the outlook for e-commerce in 2013 remains bright. However, one wild card is the possible enactment of legislation requiring state sales taxes to be collected on every e-commerce transaction -- which would reduce the Internet's traditional price advantage and possibly dilute the channel's growth rate."

Other highlights from Q1 2013 include:

• The top-performing online product categories were: Digital Content & Subscriptions, Apparel & Accessories, Sport & Fitness, Consumer Electronics, and Consumer Packaged Goods. Each category grew at least 20 percent vs. year ago.
• E-commerce accounted for 10.6 percent of discretionary dollars spent, the highest share on record.
• comScore's new m-commerce spending estimates revealed that Apparel & Accessories was the highest grossing mobile (i.e. smartphone & tablet) product category with nearly $1 billion in Q1 sales.
• Nearly half (48 percent) of time spent in the Retail category occurred on mobile devices, with smartphones (34 percent) outpacing tablets (14 percent).

Webinar Series: State of the U.S. Online Retail Economy through Q1 2013 Join Gian Fulgoni and Andrew Lipsman, VP of Marketing & Insights, as they present an update of the state of the U.S. online retail economy through Q1 2013 in a live webinar on Tuesday, May 14 from 2-3 p.m. EST / 1-2 p.m. CST / 11-12 p.m. PST. Featured content includes content sections covering mobile and multi-platform commerce trends, alternative shipping methods, and the potential impact of a federal online sales tax.

To register for the webinar, please visit: http://www.comscore.com/SORQ12013

About comScore comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in digital measurement and analytics, delivering insights on web, mobile and TV consumer behavior that enable clients to maximize the value of their digital investments. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

SOURCE comScore, Inc.