Web retail sales reflect economic downturn

Not even the mighty Internet is immune from this economic downturn.

New numbers from Web research company comScore Inc. show that while retail sales at online stores are still growing, it’s at a much slower rate.

According to comScore, online retail sales in the United States grew by 6 percent in the July-September quarter and by 5 percent in September alone, compared with a year earlier.

In today’s economy, that may sound fairly good —- until you compare it with the 19 percent growth rate a year earlier. September’s growth rate is the lowest since comScore started tracking Web sales in 2001 and marked the fifth straight month of declines.

“In the past couple of years, we’ve seen growth rates in the 20 to 25 percent rate, but online is obviously not immune from retail pressures and the economy,” said comScore’s Andrew Lipsman.

The comScore figures do not include online travel, auctions, auto sales or large corporate purchases.

Other forecasters predict the slowdown in online Web sales will continue.

In a recent research note, analyst Sandeep Aggarwal of U.K. investment bank Collins Stewart LLC reduced his forecast of U.S. e-commerce growth to about 14 percent from about 18 percent previously.

Some e-commerce sectors are apparently hurting a lot worse than others.

Online sales of music, movies and videos fell a surprising 29 percent in the third quarter compared with a year ago, according to comScore. Jewelry and watch sales fell 11 percent.

At the other end of the spectrum, online sales of video games, consoles and accessories rose by 60 percent, while sales of furniture, appliances and equipment rose by 52 percent.

Some analysts predict that smaller Web retailers may feel the effects of the downturn the most.