E-commerce to ring up 17% growth in '08

Amid a barrage of troublesome economic reports, a study released Tuesday suggests online sales are expected to take a dramatic turn upward in 2008.

Purchases made over the Internet will shoot up 17% and account for 7% of retail sales of items ranging from clothing to televisions and computers, reports Forrester Research in "The State of Retailing Online 2008," conducted for Shop.org.

Online sales will reach US$204 billion this year, led by clothing ($26.6 billion), computers ($23.9 billion) and automobiles ($19.3 billion), the report says.

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