Bank of Americas aggregated credit and debit card dataset shows online spending growth accelerated to 12% year-over-year in March, improving by one percentage point from February even though monthly comparisons became 5 percentage points more difficult. That acceleration contributed to an 11% year-over-year increase in online spend for the full first quarter.
Online spending outpaced brick-and-mortar purchases in the quarter; BofAs data show in-store spending was essentially flat year-over-year while online penetration expanded by 2.1 percentage points versus the prior year to reach 30.1% of total spend.
The card-level trends imply possible upside for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) in North America retail. Although consensus Wall Street estimates project North America retail revenue growth of 10% year-over-year for Amazon in the quarter, Bank of Americas card data show online spending rose 11% quarter-over-quarter, a 3 percentage point acceleration from the prior quarter, which could signal stronger-than-expected online retail activity.
Category-level detail in the dataset shows a mixed picture across consumer-facing sectors. Transit spending increased 4% year-over-year in the first quarter but slowed from 7% growth in the fourth quarter - a deceleration BofA attributes in part to severe winter storms, with transit expenditure falling 8% year-over-year in the last week of January.
Online restaurant spending grew 8% year-over-year in the first quarter, matching the pace from the fourth quarter and marking four consecutive quarters at that growth rate. Online grocery spending posted a 6% year-over-year gain in the quarter, a two percentage point slowdown from the fourth quarter.
Among retail categories, department stores recorded the most pronounced monthly acceleration in March with year-over-year growth up 8 percentage points from February. Electronics spending accelerated by 7 percentage points, while transit improved by 3 percentage points month-to-month. Online home furnishings grew 1% year-over-year in the first quarter, holding steady versus the fourth quarter. Total ticketing spend turned positive, rising 4% year-over-year in the first quarter after declining 8% in the fourth quarter.
Impacted sectors: E-commerce and online retail; brick-and-mortar retail; transportation and transit services; foodservice and online restaurants; grocery; consumer electronics; home furnishings; ticketing and events.