{
  "schema_version": "1.1",
  "id": "census-ecommerce-2025-1-23-trillion-16-4-percent",
  "slug": "census-ecommerce-2025-1-23-trillion-16-4-percent",
  "url": "https://groundedkit.com/claims/census-ecommerce-2025-1-23-trillion-16-4-percent/",
  "api_url": "https://groundedkit.com/api/claims/census-ecommerce-2025-1-23-trillion-16-4-percent.json",
  "claim": "U.S. retail e-commerce sales were $1.23 trillion in 2025, 16.4% of total retail sales (Census)",
  "commonly_cited_as": "\"How big is US e-commerce?\" / \"What share of retail is online?\"",
  "verdict": "verified",
  "verdict_definition": "Primary source found; it says the same thing, the scope matches, and it is reasonably current.",
  "confidence": "high",
  "rating": {
    "value": 5,
    "best": 5,
    "worst": 1
  },
  "origin": {
    "publisher": "U.S. Census Bureau",
    "title": "Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, 4th Quarter 2025 (CB26-42)",
    "year": "2026"
  },
  "quote": "Total e-commerce sales for 2025 were estimated at 1,233.7 billion, an increase of 5.4 percent (±1.2%) from 2024. Total retail sales in 2025 increased 3.5 percent (±0.4%) from 2024. E-commerce sales in 2025 accounted for 16.4 percent of total sales.",
  "method": "Census Monthly Retail Trade Survey; nonemployers are excluded since the April 2025 revision, and ticket sales agencies and other non-retail services are not counted.",
  "drift": [
    "Scope: retail goods only; excludes travel and services bought online",
    "Note: the quarterly seasonally adjusted share is different (17.1% in Q2 2026)"
  ],
  "interest": "n/a (federal statistical agency).",
  "safe_rephrasing": "The Census Bureau estimated U.S. retail e-commerce sales at $1,233.7 billion in 2025, up 5.4% from 2024 and 16.4% of total retail sales.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Census Bureau — Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, Q4 2025 (PDF)",
      "url": "https://www2.census.gov/retail/releases/historical/ecomm/25q4.pdf",
      "primary": true
    }
  ],
  "kind": "reference_fact",
  "as_of": "Full year 2025; released March 10, 2026 (delayed by the federal funding lapse)",
  "last_checked": "2026-10-16",
  "stale": false,
  "date_reviewed": "2026-10-16",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}