By MICHAEL BARBARO
Maybe Americans don’t need dressing rooms after all.
For the first time since online retailing was born a decade ago, the sales of clothing have overtaken those of computer hardware and software, suggesting that consumers have reached a new level of comfort buying merchandise on the Web.

In 2006, revenue from skirts, suits and shoes reached $18.3 billion, surpassing that from PCs, printers and word-processing programs, which totaled $17.2 billion, according to a report to be released today by a major trade group.

The surging popularity of clothing on the Web defies predictions that fashion — which is hard enough to buy in stores, with the aid of sales clerks and fitting rooms — would be difficult, if not impossible, to translate onto the Internet.

The majority of shoppers, it was feared, would never abandon the habit of trying on clothes to assess the feel of fabrics and the fit of a given size, which varies a lot by brand.
“If you are looking for a sign that online retailing has really gone mainstream, I don’t think you can find a better one than this,” said Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, the group that is releasing the report.

Online retail executives said liberal return policies and better navigation tools on their Web sites, like the ability to zoom in on and rotate the images of a $500 handbag, have bridged the once wide gap between online and offline clothes-shopping experiences.

At the same time, the rapid growth of high-speed Internet access in American homes — now in about 50 percent of households — has made it possible for online shoppers to quickly download product images and complete a purchase in seconds, rather than minutes using dial-up services.
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