Mobile driving up US online retail sales

US online retail sales are expected to grow to $294 billion thisyear, with nearly one-third of the total from mobile devices, a research firm saidMonday.Forrester Research said it sees online sales growing at a pace of 9.5 percent from2013 to 2018, which would bring total online sales to $414 billion, or 11 percent ofall retail sales. This year, mobile commerce -- sales on phones or tablets -- are likely to hit 87billion, according to Forrester. "The Web keeps doing what it has always done well: it provides huge assortments ofproducts, at comparable, often lower, prices than physical stores, with 24/7 accessand often free shipping," said research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru.Mulpuru said the figures include 30 retail categories, "and that doesn't even includeanother $28 billion in additional mobile transactions on sites and apps like Uberand Domino's Pizza that aren't even in that aforementioned mobile commercenumber."Mulpuru, in a blog post, said the growth in e-commerce does not mean thattraditional brick-and-mortar retailing is dead."Yes, old store concepts located in B and C centers are absolutely in peril, but newfresh concepts in A properties are doing quite well," she said. "While there are dying shopping centers that need to be razed and reconstructed asoffice parks or farmland or whatever, there are malls, even indoor malls, which aredoing absolutely fine.