U.S. ecommerce sales for the month of May 2026 increased by more than 10% year over year for the first time since 2022, according to Digital Commerce 360 analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

That growth was close to double the rate of total U.S. retail sales in May 2026. Total retail sales in May grew about 6.9% year over year, to $763.71 billion from $714.57 billion.

Additionally, total retail sales in May 2026 were close to $300 billion more than they were during the same month of 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic’s mass outbreak. Total retail sales in May 2020 had decreased 5.2% year over year, to $478.45 billion from $504.74 billion.

U.S. ecommerce sales in May 2026

In May 2026, U.S. ecommerce sales reached about $139.57 billion. That was a 12.2% year-over-year increase in online retail sales in May, from $124.34 billion.

Ecommerce in May 2026 also accounted for 18.28% of all retail sales. That’s the highest ecommerce penetration rate since April 2020, when 18.77% of all retail sales came from online channels.

2026 is the first year in which every month (to date) has featured an ecommerce penetration rate of at least 18%. Prior to this year, April 2020 was the only month to have reached an 18% ecommerce penetration rate.

In addition, online retail sales in May 2026 were the highest by dollar amount since the Commerce Department began tracking such data on ecommerce. They’re also more than double those from the same month in 2019, which were $60.04 billion.

Furthermore, May 2026 ecommerce sales increased by more than $55 billion compared to the same month in 2020. May ecommerce sales in 2020 had grown 38.4% over 2019.

Ecommerce sales calculations

Digital Commerce 360 studies non-seasonally adjusted commerce department data and excludes spending in segments that don’t typically sell online. These segments include:

• Restaurants
• Bars
• Automobile dealers
• Gas stations
• Fuel dealers

U.S. ecommerce penetration reflects the share of dollars consumers could potentially spend online.

The Commerce Department defines ecommerce sales as the sales of goods and services where an order is placed by the buyer or price and terms of sales are negotiated over:

• Internet
• Extranet
• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) network
• Electronic mail
• Other online system

Payment may or may not be made online. The Commerce Department publishes estimates that it adjusts for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes.

Percentage changes may not align exactly with dollar figures due to rounding. Click here to read the previous month’s update on U.S. online retail sales.

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