Online sales sped past the $100-billion mark in 2003, surpassing all industry expectations.

According to The State of Retailing Online 7.0, an annual Shop.org study conducted by Forrester Research of 150 retailers, 2003 online retail sales jumped 51% to $114 billion. The study also reported that online sales represent 5.4% of all retail sales.

This year, online retail sales are expected to grow 27% to $144 billion. As online sales increase, some sectors are experiencing extremely high growth, with online sales expected to increase more than 40% in the health and beauty (61%); apparel (42%); and flowers, cards, and gifts (41%) categories.

"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 report and senior analyst at Forrester Research. "This mainstreaming of the Web into consumers' lives not only fuels online sales, but also creates new opportunities for retailers to successfully grow their online businesses."

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

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