Internet Retailer: Visa’s Q1 e-commerce transactions are up 59%, outpacing last year

Online spending rose by 59 percent from Q1 2003 to the same quarter this year, with e-commerce accounting for $22.3 billion in purchases, up from $14 billion last year, according to Visa. That's a quickened pace from last year's 53 percent growth rate. Visa cards saw 722 million transactions in 2003, up about 45 percent from 500 million in 2002.