In its monthly spending report, Salesforce said retail sales were fueled by inflation and rose 6 percent in February on a year-over-year basis. But the e-commerce platform provider said, “with less purchasing power, U.S. consumers placed fewer orders and purchased fewer items than last year at the same time.”
Globally, online sales experienced a 5 percent year-over-year decline for the month. Salesforce based its report on sales data of more than 1 billion consumers.
Rob Garf, vice president and general manager of retail at Salesforce, said the challenges “that consumers experienced over the holidays, including inflation and low inventory, haven’t dissipated in the new year. While digital commerce continues to prevail, it’s clear that inflation is having an impact on overall consumer spending. With these persistent headwinds, retailers must remove friction and enhance experiences by knitting together offline and online shopping.”
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Salesforce said February order volume fell 11 percent year-over-year while items per order dropped by 1.3 percent — 3.79 items this year compared to 3.84 items in 2021. “Prices for consumers in the U.S. rose 11.2 percent, year-over-year in February while globally prices increased by 4.4 percent,” Salesforce said in its report, noting that product inventory in February fell 1 percent in the U.S. and 5 percent globally “as retailers and consumers continued to grapple with supply chain issues.”
By category, home goods saw the highest jumps in price growth year-over-year. By segment, furniture led with a 21.8 percent gain followed by appliances with 17.9 percent. Dining, art, and decor rose 11 percent.
Salesforce said the categories with the least price gains included active footwear with 1.3 percent and general footwear with 0.8 percent. Electronics and accessories showed the least growth with a 0.5 percent year-over-year gain.
See related story: Supply Chain Woes, Inflation Likely to Continue