Some turn to it daily to help their stores function efficiently. Others see it as an unnecessary distraction that takes away from the more important aspects of their business.

Christian retailers are agreed, though, that online purchasing is now their No. 1 challenge, according to a recent Christian Retailing Vital Signs survey on Internet usage and attitudes.

"The heartbreak is that so many people have been so beat up by e-commerce that they just run from the whole thing," said Larry Haege, president of Innovative, a leader in providing Web sites to retailers.

But "the consumer is driving technology," he added in an interview for a Christian Retailing "Retail Focus" report on Internet retailing. "A whole generation of people think that if they can't find you online, then there's something wrong with you."

Among stores that have embraced the Web is the Evangelical Bible Book Store in San Diego, Calif., whose virtual store draws customers from across the country and around the world looking for hard-to-find theology and Christian literature books.

Owner John Cully said that carrying 90% different merchandise from a traditional bookstore makes the Web site a natural extension of his business: The night that the store went virtual in 2005, it received an order from Romania.

Read more in the July 7 issue of Christian Retailing International.