E-commerce spend rose 7% in the first four months of 2024, as consumers sought cheaper items online

E-commerce spend grew by 7% year over year to $331.6 billion in the first four months of the year, according to a report from Adobe Analytics.

The report—which spanned more than a trillion US retail sales site visits, 100 million SKUs, and 18 product categories—found that shoppers have been increasingly trading down to less expensive goods in several categories.

Category closeup: Online spend grew modestly for electronics (up 3.1% YoY to $61.8 billion), and apparel (which rose 2.6% YoY to $52.5 billion). Both categories made up 34.5% of e-commerce spend. Cosmetics, a category Adobe said it tracked for the first time, saw 8% YoY growth to $13.2 billion.

Grocery shopping online also continued to gain ground, raking in $38.8 billion, which represented 15.7% YoY growth. Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, noted in a statement that “groceries is a standout,” and that “in the next three years, the category will be a dominant force in e-commerce that is on par with electronics and apparel in revenue share.”

Name your price: Adobe found that consumers are seeking out cheaper products online. Shares of the least expensive products grew notably in categories like personal care (96%), electronics (64%), apparel (47%), and grocery (33%). Categories that tend to see more brand loyalty or for which consumers seek higher quality, like sporting goods and appliances, saw less trade-down on price.

The impact of inflation has also been clear in the grocery category: Products with low inflation enjoyed a 13.4% revenue boost, while those with high inflation experienced a 15.6% dip.

The growth in online grocery comes as big-box retailers like Target and Walmart jockey for a share of private label shoppers’ wallets. Target introduced a new budget-friendly label, Dealworthy, in February, and Walmart revealed plans for its Bettergoods line last month.