Total retail sales in the United States from 1992 to 2018

By the end of 2018, total retail sales reached approximately 5.3 billion U.S. dollars, a two hundred million U.S. dollar increase from the year before. Retail sales have steadily increased from 2009, as the economy recovered from the drop due to the recession following the 2007-2008 financial 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. Most of these companies' sales are within their domestic market, and as such, they are the dominating players within the American retail industry as well. 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

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.