Online Retail Sales Increase

Online U.S. retail sales grew stronger for the third quarter of 2002. The U.S. Commerce Department's quarterly e-commerce report noted that online sales jumped to $11.06 billion in Q3, up 7.8% over Q2's online sales. This represents an increase of 34% over sales for the third quarter of 2001 and indicates growth and consumer confidence in the e-commerce retail sector. Online sales are expected to increase again significantly during the fourth quarter as holiday shoppers let their fingers do the shopping on the Internet.