In a bow to the growing importance of this segment of the economy, the government today made its first formal stand-alone estimate of quarterly sales of goods and services over the Internet and other online systems. The government's monthly reports on retail sales nationwide include online sales but they aren't listed separately. May. Online Still Small Portion of Total Retail Like the monthly retail sales report, the online sales statistic is based on a wide range of businesses selling everything from clothing and books to cars and furniture. But the statistic does not include sales from online travel services, financial services and ticket sales for things like music concerts. Neither does the monthly retail report include these services.
Private analysts say that online sales remain a small portion of total retail sales.
In 1998, online retail sales accounted for 0.5 percent of all sales and were projected to account for 1.2 percent for all of 1999. This past holiday season was a huge success for Internet retailers, which enticed new shoppers with aggressive advertising, private analysts have noted. With plentiful jobs, rising incomes and stock market gains, Americans have been in the mood to spend. The Federal Reserve boosted interest rates four times since June by a full percentage point, making borrowing more expensive for consumers and businesses. The central bank bumped up rates in an effort to slow the red-hot economy and keep inflation from escalating.