Online sales in the first three quarters of this year reached $54.87 billion, up 23.6 percent from the from $44.4 billion in the first three months of 2004; online sales in 3Q05 reached $18.2 billion, up 20.4 percent from the $15.1 billion in 3Q04; and online sales for the week ended October 2 increased 21 percent, reaching $1.56 billion from the $1.29 billion in the corresponding week a year ago, reports Internet Retailer, citing comScore figures.