Online retail sales seen rising
U.S. e-commerce is expected to rise 17%, to $43.4 bil, during the holiday shopping season, according to ComScore. Sales fell in '08, the start of the Great Recession; the research firm said U.S. holiday e-commerce sales rose 4% in '09, 12% in '10 and 14% in '11. Online growth continues to outpace offline sales.