Consumers might be forgoing buying books and other educational resources in stores, as recent research found that online purchases for these items increased in July. This could be highlighting the changes in retail POS systems.

Internet Retailer reports that a study of ecommerce purchases revealed that books and educational materials topped the list for items bought online. Year-over-year, books and other resources rose by 24 percent. Overall sales are up by 23 percent in comparison to the total from the same time last year, the research found. Also faring well in the ecommerce marketplace was the sporting goods industry, which saw a 19 percent jump over the past year in online purchases.

Retail ecommerce in the U.S. has been steadily increasing the past few months, as research from comScore revealed a total of $43.2 billion was spent on online purchases, reports Power Retail. This represents a 15 percent increase from the same period in 2011, which reached a total of $37.5 billion. However, industry experts are not sure how long the increase in numbers will last, as economic uncertainty and the unemployment rate can have an impact on the retail industry.