U.S. web sales to be $144 b

CHICAGO: U.S. online retail sales are expected to climb 27 percent to $144 billion this year as shoppers venture beyond staples such as travel into categories like health and beauty, shows a study.

The annual Shop.org study of 150 retailers, conducted by Forrester Research, found that online sales jumped 51 percent to $114 billion in 2003, accounting for a relatively small 5.4 percent of total U.S. sales. Online sales are expected to account for 6.6 percent of total retail sales this year.

In 2003, travel sites reported huge growth and generated nearly half of online sales, surging 91 percent to $52.4 billion. Home and office supplies and computer hardware and software made up about $22 billion of the sales.

The report found that roughly four out of five retailers were profitable last year, up from 70 percent in 2002.

The study predicted that sale of health and beauty products would rise 61 percent in 2004, with apparel up 42 percent and flowers, cards and gifts up 41 percent.

"Consumers continue to expand their online buying into new product categories as they become more comfortable shopping online," said Carrie Johnson, lead author of the study and senior analyst at Forrester.

Shop.org is a division of the National Retail Federation trade group.

© Reuters