InternetRetailer.com has a good article about the state of online shopping:

http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=12555

Snippet:
Nearly 100 million adults made purchases after doing online research last year, coming close to the number of adults who purchased through catalogs, direct-mail ads and telemarketing calls combined, The Dieringer Research Group says in a study released today.

Woo-Hoo! That's good news for me! Here's hoping for all of us small business online retailers will have a wonderful Christmas season!

Here's more of the same info, this time with pretty charts to back it up. :D
US Buys into Online Shopping (http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1002977)