US Online Sales Up in Q4, but at Slower Pace Than Year Earlier

(IDEX Online News) – Online sales in the United States in the fourth quarter showed some signs of slowing despite continuing to outpace sales rises at physical stores.

There was a 10.3-percent increase in fourth-quarter online sales in the October-December period, according to IBM Digital Analytics.

That compares with a 14.8-percent gain in the year-earlier period.

The data IBM data shows a continuing increase in mobile traffic and sales, with purchases made from mobile devices up 46 percent to 16.6 percent of all online sales.

Fourth-quarter sales were boosted by sales gains on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with online sales jumping by around 20 percent. IBM did not provide specifics on December sales.