Some modest growth online

Any growth is better than no growth, and that’s pretty much what the retail industry got online during the fourth quarter, as sales advanced 3% to $39 billion, according to online measurement firm comScore. The online retail industry is now essentially even with where it was in the fourth quarter of 2007, and the recent 3% gain is good news, given that sales in the previous four quarters were either flat or down. However, the resumption of growth didn’t benefit all market participants equally, as comScore singled out Walmart and Amazon as market share gainers. Total e-commerce spending for the year declined slightly to $129.8 billion, as the 3% fourth quarter gain was offset by flat first-quarter sales, a 1% second-quarter decline and a 2% third-quarter decline.