---
title: "Fact of the Week: US E-Commerce in 2017 Yielded Revenues of $7.6 Trillion, With Goods Sales Increasing 7 Percent From 2016"
summary: |-
  U.S. economic data has lagged behind the explosion of the digital economy, preventing researchers from fully understanding the extent of e-commerce and its impact on the broader economy. The Census Bureau is working to remedy this, releasing the first quarterly e-commerce report in August and including services in the annual E-Stats report for the first time in September.
date: "2019-10-07"
issues: ["Internet"]
authors: ["Caleb Foote"]
content_type: "Blogs"
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2019/10/07/fact-week-us-e-commerce-2017-yielded-revenues-76-trillion-goods-sales/"
---

# Fact of the Week: US E-Commerce in 2017 Yielded Revenues of $7.6 Trillion, With Goods Sales Increasing 7 Percent From 2016

**Source:** U.S. Census Bureau, “**[E-Stats 2017: Measuring the Electronic Economy](https://itif.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7cd0aa45750e929d69baf0fe2&id=fdbd364fae&e=4589597ff8)**,” September 23, 2019.

**Commentary**: U.S. economic data has lagged behind the explosion of the digital economy, preventing researchers from fully understanding the extent of e-commerce and its impact on the broader economy. The Census Bureau is working to remedy this, releasing the first quarterly e-commerce report in August and including services in the annual E-Stats report for the first time in September. These show e-commerce sales in 2017 totalled $7.6 trillion. This figure included e-commerce goods sales of $6.6 trillion—up $426 billion, or 7 percent, from 2016—and e-commerce services revenue that surpassed $1 trillion, making up 6.6 percent of all services trade.

---
*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2019/10/07/fact-week-us-e-commerce-2017-yielded-revenues-76-trillion-goods-sales/*