US consumers are increasingly shopping at online stores and purchases made online increased by 25% last year, pushed up mostly by a 61% increase in apparel sales. The research done by Shop.org and Forrester Research, showed that apparel, accessories, and footwear segments sold more than personal computers. This is the first time that these segments have sold higher amounts than personal computers.

One of the main reasons attributed to this is the increase use of technology by retailers, so consumers can have a better look at the items, and also due to the increasingly liberal return policies that apparel retailers have introduced for their online shoppers.  

Sucharita Mulpuru, senior analyst at Forrester and principal author of the State of Retailing Online 2007 study, conceded that she had predicted online sales growth of under 20% for 2006 and was surprised by the 25% growth. She says her 2007 forecast takes into account tepid consumer spending overall as well as the likelihood that e-commerce growth eventually will moderate. “I’m being conservative,” she says.