Pandemic and Covid were the biggest buzzwords back in 2020 and 2021. Several businesses shut down, and the retail industry went through seismic changes.<\/p>\n
Understanding these changes will help you discover where the industry is headed and how consumers evolve.<\/p>\n
This article will cover some of the most eye-opening statistics for the retail industry in recent years.<\/span><\/p>\n Rather than going on a wild goose chase, SeeBiz puts it all on one page.<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a quick breakdown of what we\u2019ll cover:<\/p>\n This section will cover the sales statistics for retail businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n The National Retail Federation issued its revised annual forecast for 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It is anticipated that retail sales will rise between 10.5 and 13.5%, reaching more than $4.44 trillion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Retail therapy is when you spend time shopping for the primary purpose of feeling better.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You could say it is a coping mechanism for other issues going around in the shopper\u2019s life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A study uncovered that 62% of shoppers bought something to cheer themselves up in 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n An additional 28% of people made purchases to celebrate an occasion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to eMarketer, global retail sales figures are looking good for 2022 and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n We can expect to see retail sales reach $7.385 trillion in 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is a significant growth estimate considering sales reached $4.921 trillion in 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to the U.S Census Bureau, American retail sales increased 3.1% from $5,402.3 billion in 2019 to $5,570.4 billion in 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The survey includes 16,500 employer businesses that sell directly to consumers in 50 states and Columbia.<\/span><\/p>\n This section will cover the retail statistics directly related to Covid.<\/span><\/p>\n Approximately 85% of Americans say that Covid-19 has impacted their shopping habits in one way or another.<\/span><\/p>\n Consumers started to spend even less than before, while online shopping and delivery services became even more popular.<\/span><\/p>\n Buying patterns revealed a common trend towards buying groceries, household supplies, pet food, and entertainment at home.<\/span><\/p>\n In December of 2021, total retail sales in the US grew by 16.9% when compared to the same period in 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Several industries including gasoline stations, clothing outlets, and hobby stores experienced considerable growth in sales.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As of August 2021, most of the shoppers bought stuff online. However, convenience aside, there’s another concern bothering customers.<\/span><\/p>\n A survey by Digital Commerce 360 revealed that almost 38% of shoppers remained nervous about exposure to Covid-19 when shopping in stores.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This mindset may take a while to go away. Eventually, we can expect to see a decline in this number.<\/span><\/p>\n Shoppers miss the possibility of touching and trying the product on the spot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n They also miss sharing the shopping experience with friends or loved ones.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Lastly, they like the possibility of bringing the item home immediately.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Customers post-Covid are becoming both digitally savvy and channel-agnostic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n They\u2019re open to exploring more shopping options than before. And, they\u2019re even more likely to take advantage of digital\u2019s self-service environments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This forces retailers to rethink, redesign and repurpose the store environment to offer the best experiences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This section will cover retail eCommerce statistics for businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n According to the figures provided by Census.gov, retail eCommerce sales saw a modest 6.8% increase in 2021 compared to the same time in 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is a decline from the 9.2% year-to-year growth seen in Q2 2021, which was already a significant drop from 30-40% from previous quarters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, when comparing 2021 Q3 sales to 2019 Q3 sales, we can see a surge of 45.6% in eCommerce sales.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hence, even though eCommerce sales are slowing down at the end of 2021, they\u2019re still much better than pre-Covid years.<\/span><\/p>\n US total retail sales in 2025 are projected to reach $7.344 trillion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This figure includes $5.737 trillion of physical retail sales and $1.607 trillion of eCommerce retail sales.<\/span><\/p>\n Due to the ease of eCommerce and the rise of Covid-19, shoppers are spending the majority of their time online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Buyers are becoming \u201cAlways-on Consumers\u201d, making purchases whenever mood strikes.<\/span><\/p>\n This has led to 70% of customers that shop in micro-moments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Most of their purchases are either unplanned or robust and done on mobile devices.<\/span><\/p>\n This survey from Morning Consult shows that online-only retailers still have a long way to go to compete with brick-and-mortar retailers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Nearly 34% of consumers said they aren\u2019t ready to trust a retailer with an online-only presence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This section will cover the general statistics for retail businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n Out of the $20.94 trillion GDP of the United States, retail contributes $3.9 trillion. That’s more than 18% of the capital.<\/span><\/p>\n This shows the retail industry’s massive size and impact in the USA.<\/span><\/p>\n United States retail grew 18.8% YoY in Decmeber 2021. This figure was a decrease from the 19.3% YoY growth observed in November 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The sales did reach a record high in April 2021 (up by 42.7%) which was substantial growth compared to the -16.7% decline in April 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These calculations were performed by CEIC and retail sales data was provided by the U.S Census Bureau.<\/span><\/p>\n This section will cover the statistics for physical retail businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n Concerns for health and safety still linger, but shoppers are returning to their pre-2020 shopping habits.<\/span><\/p>\n According to Mood Media, only 6% of shoppers have not returned to stores.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This shows how almost all consumers are already flocking back to physical stores.<\/span><\/p>\n As of mid-2021, 86% of American shoppers are comfortable shopping in-store, up from 68% in September 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Globally, 80% of shoppers feel comfortable visiting physical stores now, up from 71% in 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Convenience stores were leading retail locations with over 150,000 US locations in 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In second place came grocery stores with 47,000 locations, followed closely by drug stores with 41,000 locations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Even with the pandemic presenting challenges for many businesses, 2021 was a banner year for retail.<\/span><\/p>\n According to The Daily on Retail, roughly 5,725 stores announced their opening through 3Q21.<\/span><\/p>\n This figure is almost double the 2,890+ store closing announcements over the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n This section will cover the statistics for retail business consumers.<\/span><\/p>\n The average length of stay at an indoor mall between March and July 2021 was 66 minutes, which is still a bit short of the 73 minutes pre-pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n Between March and July 2021, the length of stay at grocery-anchored centers increased by 2 minutes to 39 minutes, about 4 minutes short of pre-pandemic levels.<\/span><\/p>\n In a survey conducted by NRF in 2020, 97% of consumers said that inconvenience was the reason for backing out of a purchase.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As time with family and work is precious, buyers are prioritizing convenience while shopping more than ever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Also, nearly 83% of consumers say that convenience is now a bigger purchasing factor than five years ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n An NRF report from 2020 revealed that most consumers usually fall into two categories.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One type (40%) believes they’re “purpose-driven” and want a product or service that aligns with their values.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The other type (41%) are more \u201cvalue-driven\u201d and just want good value products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n COVID-19 disrupted the supply chain of many products and brands.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So consumers were forced to switch brands or shop at different retailers when their favorite product was not available at their preferred retailer.<\/span><\/p>\n This section will cover the retail theft statistics in detail.<\/span><\/p>\n The average dollar loss per shoplifting incident in the US stood roughly at $460 in the fiscal year of 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The survey from Statista compares theft data from 2014 to 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The highest reported average dollar loss was reported back in 2016 at around $798.48.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A survey by Statista revealed that external threats aren\u2019t the only threats to a retail business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The average dollar per dishonest employee case for retailers in 2020 was $1551.66.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The survey was conducted between 2014 and 2020, with 2020 ranking as the second-highest average dollar loss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The highest loss was recorded in 2016 when the average dollar loss due to dishonest employees was over $1900.<\/span><\/p>\n In 2021, a survey by Statista revealed that over two-thirds of retailers in the US say Covid-19 has increased certain risks to their organization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Those risks include but are not limited to:<\/span><\/p>\n\n
Retail Sales Statistics<\/h2>\n
Retail sales to exceed $4.44 trillion by the end of 2021 (NRF<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
At least 62% of Shoppers engaged in retail therapy in 2021 (WebMD<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Global retail sales are expected to reach $7.385 trillion in 2025 (eMarketer<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
U.S. retail sales top $5,570 billion (Census.gov<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Covid-Related Retail Statistics<\/h2>\n
Covid 19 Impacted 85% of Americans’ Buying Habits (Statista<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
In 2021, total retail sales in the US grew by 16.9% compared to 2020 (Statista<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Approx. 38% of shoppers fear contracting Covid-19 at the grocery store (Digital Commerce 360<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
In 2021, 80% of shoppers feel comfortable visiting physical stores now (MoodMedia<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Post-Covid, 52% of U.S. online adults enjoy trying new brands, and 63% spend time comparing products before purchase (Chain Storage<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Retail eCommerce Statistics<\/h2>\n
Retail eCommerce sales hit $204.62 billion in Q3 2021, increasing 6.8% compared to the same period in 2020 (Census.gov<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Ecommerce sales expected to reach $1.607 trillion in 2025 (eMarketer<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Seven in ten customers will shop in micro-moments in 2021 (INMAR Intelligence<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
One-third of consumers say they don\u2019t trust online-only businesses (Morning Consult<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Retail Industry Growth Statistics<\/h2>\n
Retail has a total GDP impact of $3.9 Trillion in the USA (NRF<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
US Retail grew by 18.8% year-on-year in December 2021 compared to a 19.3% increase in November 2021 (Census.gov<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Brick-and-Mortar Retail Statistics<\/h2>\n
Only 6% of shoppers are yet to return to shopping in physical stores (Mood Media<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
At least 86% of US shoppers say they\u2019re now comfortable or \u201cvery comfortable\u201d with in-store shopping as of mid-2021 (Mood Media<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
US Convenience stores were three times as common as any other type of retail store (NACS Magazine<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Two store opening announcements for every store closing announcement (NRF<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Consumer-Side Retail Statistics<\/h2>\n
Consumer behaviors are reverting to what they were pre-pandemic (ICSC<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Over 97% of consumers have backed out of a purchase based on convenience (NRF<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
About 81% of consumers are either \u201cpurpose-driven\u201d or \u201cvalue-driven\u201d (NRF<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
In the U.S., over 75% of consumers are trying new shopping methods (McKinsey<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Retail Theft Statistics<\/h2>\n
The average dollar loss due to shoplifting in 2020 was around 200$ more than in 2019 (Statista<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
The average dollar loss per dishonest employee for retailers in 2020 was about $1550 (Statista<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
Over two-thirds of US retailers report that Covid-19 has significantly increased certain risks to their businesses (Statista<\/a>)<\/h3>\n
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The e-Commerce fraud detection and prevention market will grow by over 69 billion in 2025 (