ONLINE SALES CONTINUE TO SHOW PROMISE BY RESEARCHERS

Forrester Research estimates that online retail sales (defined as B2C sales of goods including auctions and travel) will grow to $329 billion in 2010 from $172 billion.

Nielsen/NetRatings has provided a ranking of leading retail Web sites by total apparel purchases for the month of February. Multichannel retailers such as QVC and eBay are the most popular, but brick-and-mortar stores such as Old Navy are moving up the rankings.

“Cataloguers such as L.L. Bean are also popping up in the rankings as well. Shoppers will browse the catalogue, then come online to make their purchase."