Home Category Keeping Pace in Shifting E-Commerce Marketplace

2024.07.24

E-commerce shifts in June suggest that while economy and consumers response to it continue to bring some volatility to retail e-commerce sales, the home goods and decor business is keeping pace in a dynamic marketplace.

In June, e-commerce sales gained 2%, according to online security provider Signifyd, and average order value decreased by 1% across the range of industries the company covers. Home Goods and Decor category sales were flat in June versus the month a year prior. Although running negative for the year, Grocery & Household Goods e-commerce sales gained 29% from June 2023, while General Merchandise, which saw gains in the first half, had a 3% decline. Fashion, Apparel and Luggage and Business Supplies, both strong for the six months, were up 5% and flat, respectively, in 2024 versus the year-earlier month. Beauty and Cosmetics sales slipped 8% from June 2023, while Luxury Goods gained 1% and Leisure and Outdoors slipped 3%. Electronics category sales were down 7%, Consumer Medical Supplies e-commerce sales were up 34%, Auto Parts and Tires sales were up 3%, and Alcohol, Tobacco and Cannabis were down 14% from the month last year.

As a whole, year-over-year e-commerce sales gained 4% in the first half, while average order value increased 1%. In e-commerce sales terms, Home Goods and Decor fell in the middle of the pack among industries tracked by Signifyd, up 1%. Fashion, Apparel and Luggage led along with Business Supplies, up 13% each. General merchandise gained 8%, with Beauty and Cosmetics down 3% and Leisure and Outdoor down 5%. Grocery & Household Goods were down 22% and Luxury Goods down 27% in the year’s first half. Electronics was down 16% over the first half of the year versus the 2023 period, while Consumer Medical Supplies was up 9%, Alcohol, Tobacco and Cannabis was up 5% and Auto Parts and Tires was flat.

Signifyd is a commerce protection platform that widely tracks e-commerce sales and volume data, the company maintained. As such, the company noted what it terms fraud pressure was up 19% in June year over year, although that was off a first-half 2024 May peak. Consumer abuse was up 14% in June, which was part of a gradual increase that began in March. The Signifyd Fraud Pressure Index tracks very high risk and presumably fraudulent e-commerce orders across industry verticals, while the Consumer Abuse Index tracks the questionable conduct of legitimate customers by reviewing the percentage of chargebacks fought by Signifyd and successfully won over time. The index assumes winnable chargebacks are very likely to be true consumer abuse.