MORE WEB GROWTH EXPECTED

Online retail sales are expected to reach $152 billion by 2002. And, while only a few of today’s online retailers may survive the ongoing industry shakeout, a recent report found that those that do survive will keep a strong hold on overall consumer spending. Business-to-consumer sales over the Internet will grow from an estimated $25 billion in 1999 to $152 billion in 2002 and to $233 billion by 2004, according to a report released last week by Internet research firm Giga Information Group Inc. Still, consumer online sales will only make about 3 percent of total consumer spending by 2004, the report said. The report estimates that, by 2002, more than 60 percent of the projected $150 billion spent on the Internet will be made through “clicks-and-mortar” merchants, while only 26 percent will be made via Internet-only retailers.