CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Online sales are bringing in historic profits right now, but there may be a misconception that most prefer filling their cart on their cell phones compared to in the store.
Trends have almost always shown that people buy more in the last quarter of the year.
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.
The data for this year's shopping habits are still being pulled, but in 2022, online sales saw a 23% jump between October and December. Across the nation, that dollar amount came in at about $303 billion.
Still, in that same fourth quarter of 2022, retail stores only saw about 16% of their sales coming from online purchases.
There is an important factor to keep in mind: The research includes both businesses that have a physical storefront and those which are online only. Among retailers that do have physical stores, online sales rose.
The jump just looked different depending on the type of store. There was a nearly 9% jump at general merchandise stores, about 5% at food and beverage stores, and about 4.5% at health and personal care stores. Meanwhile, some types of retailers saw decreases -- online sales fell for electronics and appliance stores, motor vehicles and part dealers, and furniture and home furnishings stores.
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