Press & data · 42 figures · updated October 17, 2026
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Coming up
Oct 22 · AI use by businesses: next Census survey release Nov 12 · Small business: next Census Business Formation Statistics release Nov 19 · US ecommerce: Census Q3 2026 ecommerce release, with revised figures Nov 19 · Holiday shopping: Census Q3 2026 ecommerce release, with revised figures Mar 2027 · Online shopping scams: the FTC's next annual Consumer Sentinel Data BookHeadline figures
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US Ecommerce & Online Shopping Statistics (2026)
2025–26 figures are as first published. Revised figures come on November 19, 2026.
$340.2B in online sales, Q2 2026 US Census Bureau · Q2 2026, seasonally adjusted, as first published Aug 18, 2026
On its page: US online retail sales were $340
+12.2% on a year earlier; all retail +6.7% US Census Bureau · Q2 2026 vs Q2 2025, seasonally adjusted, as first published Aug 18, 2026
On its page: US online sales grew 12
$1.23T spent online in 2025, 16.4% of retail US Census Bureau · Full year 2025, as first published Mar 10, 2026
On its page: Americans spent $1
Holiday Shopping Statistics (2026)
$365.2B in online sales in Q4 2025 US Census Bureau · Q4 2025, not seasonally adjusted, as first published Mar 10, 2026
On its page: US online retail sales were $365
$275.1B Adobe's forecast for US online spending, Nov 1–Dec 31, 2026 (+6.7%) Adobe (forecast, not government data) · Forecast released Sep 28, 2026
On its page: Adobe forecasts $275
US Small Business Statistics (2026)
36.2M small businesses in the US: 99.9% of all businesses. SBA Office of Advocacy · 2022 data, published February 2026
On its page: There are 36
45.9% of private-sector workers, 62.3 million people, work for a small business SBA Office of Advocacy · 2022 data, published February 2026
On its page: 45
29.8M small businesses have no employees, 82.3% of them SBA Office of Advocacy · 2022 data, published February 2026
On its page: 29
531,728 applications to start a business in August 2026 US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics · August 2026, seasonally adjusted (released Sep 11, 2026)
On its page: Americans filed 531,728 applications to start a business in August 2026
34.7% of establishments opened in March 2015 were still open ten years later Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics · March 2015 openings, measured March 2025
On its page: 34
Online Shopping Scam Statistics (2026)
$15.9B in fraud losses reported to the FTC in 2025, up from $12.5 billion in 2024. Federal Trade Commission · 2025
On its page: Americans reported $15
$449.2M lost to online shopping fraud in 2025; median loss $117 Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Sentinel dashboards · 2025, data as of June 30, 2026
On its page: Americans reported losing $449
4th most-reported complaint category in 2025: online shopping, 424,464 reports Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Sentinel dashboards · 2025, data as of June 30, 2026
On its page: Online shopping was the 4th most-reported category of consumer complaint in 2025, with 424,464 reports
$2.1B lost to scams that started on social media in 2025, 8× the 2020 level Federal Trade Commission · 2025
On its page: Americans reported losing $2
40%+ of people who lost money to a social media scam said it began with something they ordered from an ad Federal Trade Commission · 2025
On its page: Shopping scams were the most-reported kind of scam on social media, and more than 40% of people who lost money to a social media scam said it started when they ordered something they'd seen in an ad
Prices and Tariffs: What Americans Search For (2026)
−83% Google searches for “tariffs”, March–August 2026 against the same months of 2025 (1,710,000 vs 10,290,000). Sauron analysis of Google search volumes · March–August 2026 vs March–August 2025
On its page: Google searches for “tariffs” were down 83% in March–August 2026 on the same months of 2025
−38% searches about buying American. Arkansas searched most per resident (262 searches per 100,000 people, 2.1 times the rate of Wyoming, the next state). Sauron analysis of Google search volumes · March–August 2026 vs March–August 2025
On its page: Searches about buying American-made goods were down 38%
170 → 27,100 monthly searches for “cheaper alternative”, July 2025 to August 2026. Sauron analysis of Google search volumes · Monthly, July 2025 to August 2026
On its page: Searches for “cheaper alternative” went from 170 a month in July 2025 to 27,100 in August 2026, rising every month since November 2025
−20% buy now, pay later searches. Georgia searched most per resident (3,374 searches per 100,000 people). Sauron analysis of Google search volumes · March–August 2026 vs March–August 2025
On its page: Searches for buy now, pay later services (“buy now pay later”, Afterpay, Klarna) were down 20%
+14% secondhand searches (thrift stores, “secondhand”, “refurbished”). No state clearly leads: Colorado, Oregon and Montana are each within 5% of the state above. Sauron analysis of Google search volumes · March–August 2026 vs March–August 2025
On its page: Searches for secondhand goods (thrift stores, “secondhand”, “refurbished”) were up 14%
AI Shopping Search Trends (2026)
These are Google searches for AI tools, not shopping done inside them.
+3.5% Google searches about shopping with AI in a year, while searches for AI assistants rose 62%. Sauron analysis of Google search volumes · October 2025–September 2026 vs October 2024–September 2025
On its page: Google searches about shopping with AI were up 3
+53% Google searches for “chatgpt” in a year. “claude ai” up 346%, “copilot” up 88%, “perplexity” up 22%. Sauron analysis of Google search volumes · October 2025–September 2026 vs October 2024–September 2025
On its page: Searches for the assistants by name
+22% searches for retailers' own AI assistants: Walmart's Sparky +311%, Amazon's Rufus −9%. Sauron analysis of Google search volumes · October 2025–September 2026 vs October 2024–September 2025
On its page: Searches for retailers' own AI assistants were up 22%
+79% searches for “chatgpt shopping” (13,340 a year); “ai shopping” +67% (15,360). Fast growth from small numbers. Sauron analysis of Google search volumes · October 2025–September 2026 vs October 2024–September 2025
On its page: Searches for “ai shopping” were up 67% (15,360) and “chatgpt shopping” up 79% (13,340)
Can Small Stores Still Win on Google?
281 US product searches in 18 retail categories, checked on Google on October 16, 2026. A "spot" is one of the organic results on page one.
87.5% of product searches showed a Google AI Overview above the results. Sauron study of Google results data · Google US, desktop, October 16, 2026
On its page: Google showed an AI Overview on 87
100% of skincare, pet-treat and supplement searches got an AI Overview (47 searches). Sauron study of Google results data · Google US, desktop, October 16, 2026
On its page: Google showed an AI Overview on every skincare, pet-treat and supplement search we checked (47 searches)
51% of searches had Amazon on page one. Sauron study of Google results data · Google US, desktop, October 16, 2026
On its page: Amazon was on page one for 51% of product searches (143 of 281), with 182 first-page spots
65% of searches had a small store on page one (site strength under 25; 42–82% at cut-offs of 20 and 30). Sauron study of Google results data and site strength scores · Google US, desktop, October 16, 2026
On its page: Stores with a site strength under 25 out of 100 reached page one for 65% of searches, and the top three for 45
63.9% of 3+ word searches had a small store on page one, against 67.8% of 1–2 word searches. Sauron study of Google results data and site strength scores · Google US, desktop, October 16, 2026
On its page: Longer, more specific searches didn't help small stores
How many US businesses use AI? (2026)
Census reworded the AI question on November 17, 2025, so figures from before then aren't comparable. Every trend on this page uses the new wording.
23.8% of US businesses used AI in the last two weeks, about 1 in 4. US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey · Sep 7–20, 2026, published Oct 8, 2026
On its page: 23
16.8% of retailers used AI, about 1 in 6. US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey · Sep 7–20, 2026
On its page: 16
27.7% expect to use AI in the next six months. US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey · Sep 7–20, 2026
On its page: 27
30.1% in Utah, the highest state, up from 18.6% last winter. US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey · average of six surveys, June 29 to September 20, 2026; earlier figure November 2025 to January 2026
On its page: Utah had the highest share of businesses using AI of any state
39.5% of businesses with 250+ staff, against 22.8% with 1–4. US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey · average of six surveys, June 29 to September 20, 2026
On its page: 39
Where does ChatGPT tell you to shop?
144 answers to neutral shopping questions on chatgpt.com (US, logged out), October 16, 2026. Google figures come from our study of 281 Google page ones in the same categories: different units, so read them as a direction, not a ratio. [Read every answer in full](/research/chatgpt-shopping-recommendations/answers).
15.3% of ChatGPT's shopping answers named Amazon. On Google, Amazon was on page one for 50.9% of searches in the same categories. Sauron study of ChatGPT answers collected on chatgpt.com and Google results data · 144 answers, October 16, 2026
On its page: ChatGPT named Amazon in 15
20.8% of answers named a small store, against 65.1% of Google page ones. Sauron study of ChatGPT answers collected on chatgpt.com and Google results data · 144 answers, October 16, 2026
On its page: ChatGPT named a small store (site strength under 25) in 20
32.6% of answers named Etsy, against 3.2% of Google page ones. Sauron study of ChatGPT answers collected on chatgpt.com and Google results data · 144 answers, October 16, 2026
On its page: ChatGPT named Etsy in 32
97.2% named a small store when we asked for a small business. Sauron study of ChatGPT answers collected on chatgpt.com · 36 answers, October 16, 2026
On its page: When the question asked for a small independent business, ChatGPT named a small store in 97
Chart pack
Download all 23 charts (ZIP). Each PNG is 1600px wide, with its title, source and the page address drawn in.
- Online share of US retail sales from US Ecommerce & Online Shopping Statistics (2026)
- Growth on a year earlier, Q2 2026 from US Ecommerce & Online Shopping Statistics (2026)
- Online share of US retail sales, by quarter from US Ecommerce & Online Shopping Statistics (2026)
- Monthly Google searches for “tariffs”, US from Prices and Tariffs: What Americans Search For (2026)
- Monthly Google searches for “cheaper alternative”, US from Prices and Tariffs: What Americans Search For (2026)
- Change in US Google searches by theme from Prices and Tariffs: What Americans Search For (2026)
- Where each theme is searched most, per resident from Prices and Tariffs: What Americans Search For (2026)
- Change in US Google searches about AI, by theme from AI Shopping Search Trends (2026)
- Change in US Google searches for AI shopping tools from AI Shopping Search Trends (2026)
- Change in US Google searches for AI assistants from AI Shopping Search Trends (2026)
- Who holds page one of Google for US product searches from Can Small Stores Still Win on Google?
- What page one of Google looks like for 281 product searches from Can Small Stores Still Win on Google?
- Who holds page one, by category from Can Small Stores Still Win on Google?
- How often Google showed an AI Overview, by category from Can Small Stores Still Win on Google?
- Who holds page one of Google for US product searches from Can Small Stores Still Win on Google?
- What else Google shows for US product searches from Can Small Stores Still Win on Google?
- Share of US businesses using AI from How many US businesses use AI? (2026)
- Share of businesses using AI, by state from How many US businesses use AI? (2026)
- Share of businesses using AI, by industry from How many US businesses use AI? (2026)
- Share of businesses using AI, by number of employees from How many US businesses use AI? (2026)
- Where ChatGPT and Google send shoppers from Where does ChatGPT tell you to shop?
- Who ChatGPT names when you ask where to shop from Where does ChatGPT tell you to shop?
- The places ChatGPT named most from Where does ChatGPT tell you to shop?
All data (CSV)
Prices and Tariffs: What Americans Search For (2026)
AI Shopping Search Trends (2026)
Can Small Stores Still Win on Google?
How many US businesses use AI? (2026)
Where does ChatGPT tell you to shop?
About Sauron Research
Sauron is an SEO app for Shopify stores. Sauron Research publishes official US figures on online shopping and small businesses, each with its source and date, and our own studies of Google search data. Research by Laurence Tuchin, founder.
How we check figures
Every official figure is taken from the agency's own table, with its release date, and updated when the agency revises it. Our studies publish their method and data. All research pages