19 May 2003

Online sales soared 48% in 2002

In a mostly disappointing year for the retail industry, there appears to be one bright spot: online retail. According to "The State of Retailing Online 6.0", an annual study conducted by Forrester Research, online retail sales soared to $76 billion in 2002, up 48 percent over the prior year.

In addition to growth in revenue, the latest figures from the study show that US online retailers are continuing their march to profitability. Last year, 70 percent of retailers reported positive operating margins, compared with 56 percent in 2001. Collectively, retailers broke even in sales last year, up from a loss of 6 percent in 2001.

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