E-commerce accounted for 15.3% of sales at Express in the third quarter, down from 15.9% a year earlier.

Express Inc.’s e-commerce sales grew slower than the multichannel chain’s overall sales in the third quarter, a marked shift from recent trends.

After Express’ online sales grew 21% in the second quarter and about 17% in the first half of the year, e-commerce sales only ticked up about 6% in the third quarter. Despite the lackluster results online, the retailer’s overall financial results improved; total sales grew nearly 10% and net income soared more than 80%.

Part of the reason the retailer’s online growth slowed was that Express offered fewer online promotions this year during the third quarter. “During last year’s third quarter we drove a significant amount of business by running online and new promotions,” said David Kornberg, president and CEO of Express, No. 102 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide, during a conference call with analysts. “We ended that practice earlier this year as part of our focus on creating a consistent shopping experience for our customers across channels. Accordingly we are satisfied with the e-commerce growth we delivered while lapping an extraordinarily promotional calendar from last year.”

Kornberg noted that since the retailer upgraded its mobile app in September time spent on the app has increased, as have monthly revenue. “Given the rapid rate at which our customers are adopting mobile commerce, we will continue to optimize our mobile app for appeal and usability,” he said.

For the fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 31, Express reported:

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  • E-commerce sales rose 5.9% to $83.8 million from $79.1 million.
  • Total sales grew 9.8% to $546.6 million from $497.6 million.
  • Comparable-store sales, including e-commerce, grew 6%.
  • Net income was $26.3 million, up 80.1% from $14.6 million.
  • E-commerce represented 15.3% of total sales in the third quarter this year versus 15.9% last year.  

For the first nine months of the fiscal year, Express reported:

  • E-commerce sales rose 12.6% to $236.4 million from $209.9 million.
  • Total sales rose 10.1% to $1.585 billion from $1.440 billion.
  • Net income was $60.4 million, up 127.9% from $26.5 million.
  • E-commerce represented 14.9% of total sales versus 14.6% last year.

Express is featured in the Internet Retailer 2016 Hot 100, which spotlights the most innovative online retailers. Click here to order the Hot 100. 

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