ONLINE PURCHASES DIP 15.4% IN FEBRUARY

ONLINE PURCHASES DIP 15.4% IN FEBRUARY    Online retail purchases dipped 15.4 percent in February, according to the National Retail Federation/Forrester Online Retail Index.
   The new monthly index's second report placed online retail spending in February at $2.36 billion, compared to $2.78 billion in January. Traditionally leading online categories, books, music and software, saw sales fall from $554.1 million in January to $420.9 million in February.
   Two non-traditional categories, jewelry and furniture sales, saw sizable increase in February. Jewelry sales, believed to be fueled by Valentine's Day sales, rose $17 million to $88.94 million. Furniture sales grew from $22 million in January to $38 million in February. In both cases, aggressive advertising and marketing campaigns were credited for building customer awareness.
   Consumers spent nearly the same amount of money, an average of $187.20 per consumer, in February, while the number of shoppers fell to 12.59 million, from 13.74 million.