n addition to a sizzling housing market, there's another area of the U.S. economy also going strong - online retail sales. In August 2002, the U.S. Department of Commerce posted its U.S. Census Bureau quarterly report for retail e-commerce sales.

The report shows that online retail sales totaled $10.2 billion in the second quarter 2002, a 24% increase in spending over the same period last year.

The numbers seem to show that every day, more purchases are being made online - not just in the U.S. but around the world. In June, eBay announced it expects to bring in $1 billion in revenue in 2002.

With Internet monsters like Amazon.com, Buy.com and Barnes & Noble offering free shipping incentives, it's hard to resist the lure and convenience of Internet shopping, especially with the holiday season just around the corner - fourth-quarter numbers in the U.S. Census report consistently have been the strongest and have climbed every year.

Keep in mind the report is not adjusted for holiday or seasonal differences. If you compare numbers on a yearly basis, they don't seem as erratic as when you look at them by quarter.

Online retail still is only a small piece of the pie. Total retail sales for the second quarter of 2002 were $825.5 billion. While online sales grew 3.7%, overall retail sales grew 11%. In fact, the e-commerce share of total retail sales actually declined in the second quarter for the first time since the same period last year, falling to 1.2 percent from 1.3 percent of sales seen in the first quarter.

The report is based on a survey of 11,000 retailers whose sales are weighted and benchmarked to represent the 2 million retail firms in operation.

The $10.2 billion in e-commerce sales does not include airline and concert ticket purchases, brokerage activities and pornography - significant contributors to online sales.

The government began tracking e-commerce sales in the fourth quarter of 1999.