United States: total retail sales in the United States 1992-2021

By the end of 2021, total retail sales reached approximately 6.6 trillion U.S. dollars, around one billion U.S. dollar increase from the year before. Retail sales have steadily increased since 2009, as the economy recovered from the downward trend due to the recession following the 2007-2008 financial crisis, and most recently from the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

The United States as retail powerhouse

The United States is home to many of the leading retail companies in the world, including Walmart, Costco, and Amazon. Amazon, in particular, has seen extreme levels of growth in revenue in tandem with the increase of e-commerce globally.

The rise of e-commerce and mobile shopping

E-commerce is responsible for a growing percentage of total retail sales, partially due to a surge in mobile shopping, with customers increasingly using their mobile devices for various online shopping activities. Smartphones accounted for more retail website visits than desktops or tablets, and matched desktops in generating online shopping orders.