As the weather outside turns frightful, retail businesses with "e-tail" (electronic retail) Websites are hoping that consumers will turn to their home computers for their holiday shopping. A Forrester Research report estimates that seven million shoppers will spend close to $4 billion in online shopping, three times more than last year. However, this equals less than one percent of total holiday spending, estimated at $184 billion this holiday season. Most online retailers have increased the capacity and speed of their Websites in order to best serve holiday shoppers, hoping that this year's online shopping experiences will lead consumers to do a greater amount of next year's holiday shopping by way of the World Wide Web. While consumers are willing to try e-commerce sites, as many as 40 percent of experienced Internet users have found the process of online shopping confusing and complicated. This week's In the News examines the trend of online shopping with the following seven resources including news articles, advice, and related Websites.
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