US online retailers struggle amid political uncertainty

Online retail growth in the US has slumped to its lowest levels since April, according to research from Emarsys.

Driven by political unrest and uncertainty around relief packages, online revenue growth in the week leading up to 9th August dropped to 51%, while the number of online orders US consumers made fell to 52%: 

Alex Timlin, Senior Vice President at Emarsys, says: “While online retail in the US is doing comparatively better than this time last year, the sudden drop in revenue and order numbers indicates that US consumers aren’t quite confident yet to go and splash the cash."

“There are a number of reasons why we’re seeing this trend, but the most likely is the fact that the US needs a new relief package from the government to stimulate demand.” 

These trends were identified by Covid-19 Commerce Insight, a joint project between Emarsys and GoodData. This draws on more than a billion engagements and 400 million transactions in 120 countries.

Sign up for our free retail technology newsletter here.