In tough economy, e-commerce stands strong

There have been an awful lot of disheartening media reports in recent weeks about the slow recovery of the U.S. economy. But e-commerce has provided a consistent ray of hope.

One example: While general retail experienced 1% year-over-year growth in the second quarter, e-commerce increased 10%, according to MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse report.

A consumer-shopping-habits survey by e-commerce company ChannelAdvisor, released August 31, seems to underscore the health of the e-commerce industry.

Among the results:

• 58% of consumers surveyed said they plan to purchase their gifts online this year, beating brick-and-mortar stores by nearly 20%
• 41% said their shopping habits were unaffected by the state of the economy
• When ChannelAdvisor asked consumers how much they spend online per month, those selecting "more than $76" (the highest option) increased by 27 percent over 2009.