DALLAS, May 14, 2007 / FW/ --- In 2006, Americans spent $18.3 billion online to purchase apparel, accessories and footwear according to a survey conducted by Forrester Research for Shop.org and for 2007, it is projected to reach $22.1 billion, with 10% of all clothing sales expected to occur online.

Surprisingly enough, this phenomenon has also reached high street fashion with luxury retailers like Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom offering the likes of Armani, Alexander McQueen and Burberry as part of their online offerings, while Louis Vuitton is sold online at eluxury.com, which is also owned by LVMH.

Chanel, through its website, maintains an online catalog of its product lines, which in turn advises users to go to a brick & mortar Chanel boutique to peruse its whole line. Christian Dior does the same, while Giorgio Armani has its own e-commerce sites for Armani Exchange and for its perfume, cosmetics and watches.

Among American fashion houses, Ralph Lauren has wholeheartedly embraced the web in its e-commerce site, polo.com, which offers almost all of its product lines.

The same report attributed the increase of online sales with “apparel and accessories retailers are integrating new technologies onto their sites including rich imaging, where customers can zoom and rotate merchandise or see the item in different colors before buying, all of which eases the mind of a customer who is hesitant to purchase apparel online.”

It also noted that the “apparel and accessories category has experienced strong sales because of an influx of new companies and liberal shipping policies such as free shipping on returns and exchanges.”

Another item of note about this report is that computer hardware and software, long the frontrunner for non-travel online sales, moved into second place in 2006 at $17.2 billion compared with $18.3 billion for apparel, accessories and clothing.

Sales of auto parts ($16.7 billion) and home furnishings ($10 billion) took 3rd and fourth positions.

For 2007, online sales are expected to reach $259.1 billion, a rise of 18% compared to 2006. Sales excluding travel will reach $174.5 billion.

Online sales last year rose 25 percent to $219.9 billion. Excluding travel, online retail sales rose 29 percent to $146.5 billion, representing 6% of total retail sales in 2006. These statistics suggests that online retailing is far from reaching saturation.