E-commerce retail sales helped to drive and stabilize retail activity in 2020, with the online shopping market experiencing a decade worth of growth in just a few months, according to research from Moody's Analytics. Sales hit a peak in the second quarter, waning by the end of the year, but Moody's says that the e-commerce gains catalyzed by the pandemic are here to stay.

E-commerce sales grew from 11.8% of total retail sales at the end of the first quarter to 16.1% at the end of the second quarter. This activity waned somewhat in the third quarter as brick-and-mortar businesses re-opened, with e-commerce sales falling to a total of 14.3% of total retail sales. At the end of the year, e-commerce sales remained at a record portion of total retail sales.

The retail market in general outperformed expectations in 2020. Online shopping certainly helped to prop-up sales volumes, but brick-and-mortar retail sales recovered rapidly as soon as social distancing restrictions were lifted. However, sales volumes varied largely based on the property type.