Online Sales Lose Steam

Online commerce has enjoyed hypergrowth, but now that growth has slowed sharply in a trend analysts call a turning point

New York Times, June 17, 2007 — Since the inception of the Web, online commerce has enjoyed hypergrowth, with annual sales increasing more than 25 percent over all, and far more rapidly in many categories. But in the last year, growth has slowed sharply in major sectors like books, tickets and office supplies.