According to an estimate by the U.S. Commerce Department, e-commerce sales totaled $50.27 billion in the first quarter, up 15.4% from $43.58 billion in the first quarter of 2011. It is the first time e-commerce sales have topped $50 billion outside the fourth quarter, the busiest quarter for online sales. This figure accounts for 4.9% of total retail spending in the quarter, up from 4.6% a year ago.

Experts and industry insiders are predicting that the e-commerce sector will expand dramatically throughout the Middle East in 2012. "In the overall e-commerce space, this year is going to big," said Paul Kenny, the founder and chief executive of Cobone.com . "Daily-deals websites have almost forced people to go online and buy. We are converting people online almost every day."

Trafalgar General Trading Company has appointed Paragon Marketing Communications as its authorized media representative. Paragon provides companies and businesses with marketing communication services by implementing brand strategies. The communications company has been representing the luxury retailer since December 25th.

According to a study by ComScore, Apple got more traffic online last month than Walmart. According to the study, Apple is the only retailer (other than Amazon and eBay) in the top 15 most-visited websites in the U.S. in November. Apple gets almost as many web visitors as the New York Times, thanks in large part to Apple's music site iTunes. The digital-content store made up about 30% of Apple's unique visitors last month.