Bigcommerce Releases Inaugural Quarterly Ecommerce Report

Bigcommerce, the ecommerce platform of choice for fast-growing brands, today released the findings of its inaugural Ecommerce Report, an index of quarterly sales data from small- and mid-sized merchants in the U.S. The data was pulled for July through September 2014 from over 55,000 Bigcommerce stores and shows that gross merchandise volume (GMV) per store was 25 percent higher during Q3 2014 as compared to Q3 2013. All three months of the quarter saw increased sales, indicating a particularly strong back-to-school shopping season. Top performing verticals included Lifestyle & Home and Computer & Electronics.

Back-to-School Shopping Fuels Third-Quarter Growth

Back-to-school shopping drove a steady stream of revenue for online merchants throughout the third quarter, highlighted by a 25 percent increase in average order value (AOV) among merchants in Computer & Electronics. Merchants in the Business & Educational category also saw strong sales throughout the quarter with a 45 percent YoY increase in GMV. Conversely, Hobbies & Travel as a category experienced a relatively modest quarter with average per-store GMV up only six percent, with a 24 percent decrease in AOV, as consumers shifted discretionary spending to devices and digital goods.

Consumers More Willing to Invest in Big Ticket Purchases

Bolstered by rising new-home sales, merchants in Lifestyle & Home had the strongest-performing product category for Q3 2014 with a 71 percent year-over-year increase in GMV and 41 percent per-store average increase.

This growth suggests consumers are once again investing in items like home furnishings, appliances and decor as the housing market recovers. Other leading categories for the quarter include:

• Automotive and Industrial: +62 percent

• Fashion, Beauty and Bridal: +56 percent

• Computers and Electronics: +56 percent

Los Angeles, Austin and Cleveland Top List of Best U.S. Cities for Small Businesses

Bigcommerce also unveiled its Top Ten U.S. cities for online selling based on aggregate sales and purchasing volume. Los Angeles was the top performing region nationally, followed by Austin and Cleveland. Based on consumer spending habits, New York, Houston and Chicago were the top U.S. cities for small business purchases.

To view the Bigcommerce Quarterly Ecommerce Report, including a list of Top Cities for SMBs, visit: https://www.bigcommerce.com/ecommerce-report/