Reaping benefits and managing challenges are part of ecommerce strategy.

A new five year ecommerce forecast suggests online traffic could grow by 11 percent in 2009.

The Forrester Research study says that while 2008 and 2009 represent slower growth years for online sales than 2007, ecommerce figures are still expected to be positive as consumers turn to the web in lieu of "brick-and-mortar" stores.

"The web channel has been relatively successful because it is a destination for consumers to find low prices and it is perceived to be more convenient than shopping in stores," according to Forrester.

Despite the steady flow of ecommerce traffic, business owners are being advised to remain cautious when accepting international orders.

CyberSource Corporation has released new statistics that show 30 percent of U.S. and Canadian merchants stopped orders from specific countries due to high incidence of fraud in 2008.

Doug Schwegman, CyberSource director of market and customer intelligence says that despite the many positive opportunities international ecommerce presents, some obstacles remain.

He advises that while ecommerce is a practical solution to garner business from booming growth outside the U.S.

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