American consumers will be increasing their online shopping, as states by a research report, confirms the National Retail Federation (NRF). The 11th annual Shop.org study conducted by Forrester Research Inc. with a sample size of 125 retailers stated that online sales will rise by 17% to amount to $204 billion. The key most sought categories in online shopping will be apparels ($26.6 billion), computers ($23.9 billion), and autos ($19.3 billion). %% This is despite the increase in overheads, including shipping costs, the economic low down in the US economy. The shopping incentive for consumers is two-fold; the convenience of economic shopping (at the best prices) without having to travel and the varied choices for those with an affluent taste. %% The report also said that online retailers allot 53% of their marketing budgets in acquiring online customers, while 21% is spent for retaining these online customers. Some are also opting for traditional acquisition programs such as search engine or affiliate marketing.