Growth was tough to come by at the start of the year, but topline sales did increase during the second quarter. Overall, dollar sales for the year are up 1.4%, with online growth driving the majority of the uptick (0.1% brick and mortar vs 21.1% online). Despite the meager growth, the future looks promising, as Americans are feeling very positive about their general situations: Consumer confidence remains strong at an index of 118, maintaining optimistic levels well above the global average of 104.
Following a tough first three months of 2017, dollar sales increased $6.7 billion (3%), unit sales grew $2.2 billion (3.2%) and deflationary pressures dissipated in the second quarter. Despite the inklings of a rebound, we can see that from an annual trend perspective that we’re not out of the woods yet.
THE E-COMMERCE ELEMENT
While e-commerce represents a sliver of overall dollar sales, it’s growing rapidly and steadily gaining prominence. In fact, online channels have driven 90% of FMCG growth in the past year.
