In the growth of online shopping, there's often been an assumption that e-tail and retail were two different spheres — a zero-sum game. But patterns of consumers, and the decisions companies make, are suggesting otherwise.

Data from Adobe shows continued significant growth in e-commerce spending, with the first four months of 2024 showing a 7% increase — $331.6 billion — over the same period in 2023. "Consumers have been trading down to cheaper goods, across major e-commerce categories including personal care, electronics, apparel, furniture and groceries," the company wrote, with inflation sending buyers in search of ways to save money. And buy-now-pay-later plans are "expected to drive over $81 billion in online spend in 2024, setting a new record as shoppers embrace more flexible ways to manage their budgets."

E-commerce as a percentage of all retail is down from the pandemic high of 16.5% in the second quarter of 2020. However, it was still 15.6% in the last quarter of 2023. It's not going away and continues to grow, although more slowly.