Online sales are speeding up again, and every extra order is a promise that your stock has to keep. Here’s what the latest US Census numbers say, what they leave out, and what faster growth means for a small seller in Singapore and Southeast Asia. We’re using US data because it’s the freshest clean quarterly series we can verify, and we’ll flag where it stops applying.

How fast is US e-commerce growing?

US e-commerce sales were $340.2 billion in Q2 2026, up 12.2% year over year, according to Practical Ecommerce’s analysis of US Census Bureau data published on 23 August 2026. That’s double-digit growth, a clear step up from last year.

The figures cover the United States only. They’re a useful signal for any online seller, but they aren’t a forecast for your own sales.

How did Q1 2026 compare?

Q1 2026 US e-commerce sales were $327.9 billion, up 10.1% year over year, so Q2 grew faster than Q1. The quarter-on-quarter climb from $327.9 billion to $340.2 billion shows how quickly the base your stock has to support is growing.

What about the first half of 2026?

First-half 2026 US e-commerce sales reached $668.1 billion, up 11.1%, according to the same Census-based analysis. Put simply, online spending was 11.1% higher than in the first half of 2025.

US e-commerce sales reached $668.1 billion in the first half of 2026, up 11.1% year over year (Practical Ecommerce, citing US Census Bureau, 2026).

Related: WooCommerce stock settings explained: low stock alerts, hold stock and backorders

What share of retail is online?

E-commerce was 17.1% of US retail sales in Q2 2026, up from 16.3% a year earlier. That’s less than a one-point shift in a year, but on trillions of dollars it’s a big move.

It also means more than 80% of US retail still happens elsewhere. Online is growing, but most sellers still run a shop alongside the website, which is where split stock counts cause trouble.

Is online growing faster than all of retail?

Yes. Total US retail grew 6.7% year over year in Q2 2026, against 12.2% for e-commerce, so online grew at nearly twice the pace.

That gap is why online’s share keeps edging up. If your sales mix looks like the wider market, your online channel is probably the one adding the most new orders.

Is growth speeding up?

Yes. E-commerce growth was 5.0%, 5.3% and 5.9% in Q2, Q3 and Q4 2025, before reaching 10.1% and 12.2% in the first two quarters of 2026.

The earlier quarters grew at a single-digit pace, so the jump to double digits is notable. It’s one year of data, though, so treat it as a trend to watch rather than a settled new normal.

Which categories grew fastest?

General merchandise grew 21.6% and sporting goods, hobby and books grew 20.4% in Q2 2026, while clothing and accessories grew 3.8% and furniture and home furnishings grew 4.6%, per Practical Ecommerce. Growth wasn’t even across product types.

Health and personal care grew 9.3% and food and beverage grew 8.1%. If you sell in a fast-growing category, your stock turns faster, and a miscount costs you more.

General merchandise e-commerce grew 21.6% in Q2 2026, while clothing grew just 3.8% (Practical Ecommerce, citing US Census Bureau, 2026).

Is all of that real growth?

Not entirely. The Census figures aren’t adjusted for inflation, and Amazon moving Prime Day into June 2026 may have shifted some spending from Q3 into Q2, according to Practical Ecommerce.

So part of the 12.2% is higher prices and part is timing. The direction is real, but don’t read the exact percentage as pure demand growth.

E-commerce was 17.1% of US retail sales in Q2 2026, up from 16.3% a year earlier (Practical Ecommerce, citing US Census Bureau, 2026).

Is Southeast Asia growing this fast too?

Southeast Asia’s platform e-commerce grew 22.8% to US$157.6 billion in 2025, according to Momentum Works’ Ecommerce in Southeast Asia 2026 report. That’s an annual figure for a different region, so don’t compare it directly with the US quarterly numbers.

The point is the same: online sales are growing faster than shop sales, and that includes the marketplaces many Singapore sellers use. If you sell on Shopee or Lazada as well as your own site, stopping overselling across your website, Shopee and Lazada becomes a daily job.

What does faster online growth do to stock?

More online orders on the same stock raise the risk of stock-outs, which cause 65.6% of the roughly US$1.7 trillion lost to inventory distortion each year, according to IHL Group figures reported by Retail Insight Network (2026). That’s a global figure, not a Singapore one.

A tool that connects your online store and marketplace listings to one central stock count helps here. Asalta eCommerce does this, linking an online store and marketplace listings to central stock, and it’s one option to weigh alongside others. You can read more on the Asalta eCommerce page.

Key Takeaways

• Online is accelerating: US e-commerce grew 12.2% in Q2 2026, up from 5.0% in Q2 2025.
• Online is still a minority: it was 17.1% of US retail, so most sellers run shop and web together.
• Read growth carefully: the figures aren’t inflation-adjusted and Prime Day timing shifted some spending.
• Stock is the pressure point: out-of-stocks cause 65.6% of inventory distortion.