Analysts at Forrester Research are now expecting a 12 percent increase in e-commerce spending this year compared to last year, for total sales of $44 billion. The growth may be double digits, but it's just over half as much growth as the year before, when e-commerce spending grew by 20 percent from the previous year.

Most retailers would be very please with at 12 percent growth rate, but e-commerce spending has been growing rapidly every year as more and more shoppers discover the easy of shopping online without traffic, waiting in line or worrying that they might find what they are looking for.  Online shoppers are also feeling more comfortable with the idea of sending their credit-card information over the internet.

Forrester's survey found that the migration of shoppers to online retailers will continue, but the broader economic issues we are facing will have an effect on how much they spend.

Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru says, "While e-commerce has traditionally been resistant to negative offline trends, growing concerns about the stability of the economy are finally affecting consumers' online shopping decisions."