Economic Trends ... Surge in online purchasing
A joint survey by ISM and Forrester Research recorded a surge in online purchasing in the second quarter of 2002. The fraction of companies that purchased direct materials online shot up to 64.6% in the second quarter, compared with 53.3% in the first quarter. Purchasing of indirect materials also went up, rising to 84.2% of respondents from 78.1% in the previous quarter.