In the Years Ahead, the Largest Ecommerce Categories Will Lose Share as Emerging Categories Grow

Prior to the pandemic, these two categories made up more than 40% of US ecommerce sales. But the tides began shifting in 2020, when the pandemic created a surge in ecommerce sales for categories like food and beverage and furniture and home furnishings.
Furniture and home furnishings will become the second largest category for ecommerce sales by 2024. Apparel and accessories will remain the largest category through 2027. But computer and consumer electronics—which was the largest category in ecommerce until 2020—will fall to third place.
Health and personal care is slated to become a major ecommerce category. The most prominent ecommerce-buying trend of the last few years has been the explosive growth of essential goods, including personal hygiene products and household goods. We expect this behavior to stick in the long term, causing health and personal care to grow from 11.3% of ecommerce sales this year to 13.3% in 2027, the largest increase of any category.