K'LOQUE reference
U.S. Online Retail and Returns Statistics: 2026
Current figures on online retail sales, growth, and returns, collected in one easy-to-cite reference.
Last updated September 10, 2026
At a glance
Online shopping continues to take a larger share of retail spending, while returns remain a meaningful part of the customer experience. The figures below are the latest available from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Retail Federation.
U.S. retail e-commerce sales in Q2 2026
Seasonally adjusted sales rose 3.8% from the first quarter.
U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, August 18, 2026Year-over-year e-commerce growth in Q2 2026
Total retail sales increased 6.7% over the same period.
U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, August 18, 2026Estimated share of annual retail sales returned in 2025
Retailers estimated returns totaling $849.9 billion.
National Retail Federation and Happy Returns, 2025 Retail Returns Landscape, October 15, 2025Estimated share of online sales returned in 2025
The estimate is from a retail and consumer survey covering a mix of U.S. verticals.
National Retail Federation and Happy Returns, 2025 Retail Returns Landscape, October 15, 2025Consumers who said free returns are a major consideration
The finding comes from consumers who had returned an online purchase in the previous 12 months.
National Retail Federation and Happy Returns, 2025 Retail Returns Landscape, October 15, 2025Sources and notes
How to use these figures
Each statistic links directly to its original publication. Census figures describe U.S. retail e-commerce across businesses with paid employees. The returns figures come from the National Retail Federation and Happy Returns’ 2025 Retail Returns Landscape, which included surveys of consumers who had returned an online purchase and e-commerce professionals at large U.S. merchants.
These figures describe the broader U.S. market, not K'LOQUE’s sales or customer behavior. Source dates are shown with every statistic because the underlying reports update on different schedules.
Cite this page
K'LOQUE Fashion & Style. “U.S. Online Retail and Returns Statistics: 2026.” Updated September 10, 2026. https://kloque.shop/online-retail-statistics.