Washington, Dec 28 (IANS) US e-commerce sales expanded at a much slower pace in the holiday season of 2021, according to a report issued by Mastercard Inc.US e-commerce sales from November 1 to December 24 grew 11 per cent from the same period of 2020 in comparison with a hefty year-on-year increase of 47.2 per cent in the holiday season of 2020, Xinhua news agency quoted the Mastercard SpendingPulse report as saying.The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in robust expansion of online sales in the US, but the breakneck growth has slowed down due to economic reopening and fading growth momentum.E-commerce sales made up 20.9 per cent of total retail sales in the holiday season of 2021, slightly higher from 20.6 per cent in 2020. By contrast, e-commerce only accounted for 14.6 per cent of total retail sales in the holiday season of 2019.The US reported $214.6 billion of e-commerce sales in the third quarter of 2021, up 6.6 per cent year on year, much lower than 36.1 per cent of year-on-year expansion in the same period of 2020, according to adjusted statistics issued by the Department of Commerce on November 18.The share of e-commerce in total retail sales even declined gradually from 13.8 per cent in Q3 of 2020 to 13 per cent in Q3 of 2021, according to the Department of Commerce.However, e-commerce sales in the holiday season of 2021 still posted a higher growth rate than 8.1 per cent expansion of in-store retail sales, according to the Mastercard report.The e-commerce channel continues to experience elevated growth as consumers enjoy the ease of holiday browsing and buying in the comfort of their own homes, said the report by Mastercard.
--IANS ksk/
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