AMZ123 has learned that, according to Digital Commerce 360's analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce data, U.S. e-commerce sales in July 2026 still grew year over year but declined month over month, marking the first monthly decline of 2026.

Data shows that U.S. e-commerce sales in July 2026 reached $136.9 billion, down 2.2% from June but up 7.7% year over year. At the same time, July e-commerce sales remained higher than any single month before 2026. However, compared with June of this year, market heat cooled noticeably in July, with e-commerce sales falling to their lowest level since March.

The month-over-month decline was closely tied to Amazon's adjustment of Prime Day timing. In 2026, Amazon moved its summer Prime Day earlier to June 23–26, whereas the event had usually been held in July in the past.

During this year's Prime Day, U.S. consumers spent $26.4 billion online from June 23 to 26 alone. This large-scale promotion not only boosted Amazon's own sales but also drove other U.S. retailers to launch discount campaigns simultaneously, lifting U.S. e-commerce sales growth in June 2026 to 14.2% year over year. That marked the first double-digit year-over-year growth in U.S. online retail sales for the month of June since 2021.

By contrast, growth slowed significantly in July. U.S. e-commerce sales in July 2026 rose 7.7% year over year, returning to single-digit growth. Since 2019, 2026 is the fourth time that July online retail sales posted single-digit year-over-year growth. In July 2020, e-commerce sales surged 34.9% year over year; after that, only July 2022 and July 2023 achieved double-digit growth.

Over a longer period, the U.S. e-commerce market still shows resilience. Since at least January 2019, no month in the United States has recorded a year-over-year decline in online retail sales, and no month has seen completely stagnant year-over-year growth. Past sales declines mainly occurred on a month-over-month basis rather than year over year.

The overall U.S. retail market showed a similar trend. In July 2026, total U.S. retail sales reached $763.6 billion, an increase of more than $35 billion year over year and higher than the $727.18 billion in the same period of 2025.

However, July total retail sales were also lower than in the previous two months. U.S. retail sales totaled $768.07 billion in June 2026 and $766.19 billion in May, meaning July also became the first month since the start of 2026 to see a month-over-month decline in total U.S. retail sales.

Despite the month-over-month decline, the year-over-year performance of the U.S. retail market remained relatively stable. Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that since May 2020, the United States has not had any month with a year-over-year decline in total retail sales. The decline in May 2020 was mainly due to COVID-19 restrictions, and since then the U.S. retail market has maintained year-over-year growth.

It is worth noting that although e-commerce sales declined month over month in July, the scale of $136.9 billion still exceeded any single month before 2026. This suggests that the cooling was more a result of the high base effect created by the June promotion than a sudden weakening in consumer online demand.

Author ✎ Summer/AMZ123
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Source: North America e-commerce news
Original link: https://www.amz123.com/t/pIUN9WL7