Retail e-commerce sales continue to grow rapidly, with preliminary first-quarter 2005 retail e-commerce stats showing nearly 24 percent year-over-year growth, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday, write Internet News and CNET. In comparison, retail sales as a whole increased 7.3 percent year over year.

Moreover, retail sales over the internet rose 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2005, the largest quarterly gain in a year, on an adjusted basis "for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes," according to the Census Bureau. In comparison, retail sales as a whole on an adjusted basis grew only 1.5 percent for the same period.

Purchases over the internet, by email or through other electronic networks increased to a seasonally adjusted $19.8 billion from January to March, capturing a record 2.2 percent of overall retail sales in the first quarter. E-commerce sales include goods and services but exclude travel services, ticket sales and the services of financial brokers and dealers.