Washington (DC) - The National Retail Federation has published its report for 2008 online retail sales, predicting that it could rise up to 17% over last year and for the first time crack $200 billion.

The organization's annual survey from shop.org showed that $204 billion is expected in Internet-based purchases this year, despite a slowing economy.

"The fact that online sales will increase substantially this year demonstrates the resilience of the channel and is a testament to the value and convenience most customers find when shopping online," said shop.org executive director Scott Silverman.

In the survey, 53% percent of retailers said their main focus in their online marketing budgets was for new customer acquisition while 21% said it was customer retention.  An impressive 90% said they will pay for featured search results advertising and 65% will increase their focus on outreach via social networking sites.