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Moody's Investors Service has announced that it will consider online sales when determining the credit rating of retailers.

"As online sales become a larger percentage of total sales for individual issuers, and as online spending gains a bigger share of overall retail spending, a retailer's Internet strategy is becoming a more important factor in Moody's credit analysis," said vice president and senior credit officer Margaret Taylor in a report.

"A strong online presence is considered a ratings positive more frequently than in the past, because it represents such an important channel of distribution and can mitigate declining comparable-store sales trends."

The report cites government statistics showing online sales increased by 19 percent in 2007 to $136 billion, a significant increase from $4.6 billion in 1999. Online sales will approach $200 billion this year and could surpass $300 billion in five years, Moody's said citing Forrester Research estimates.

The trend will help retailers that are exclusively online, like Amazon.com, and retailers with a strong online presence, including Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney, J.Crew, Macy's and Limited Brands Moody's said.

The report noted that apparel retailer Gap Inc. lessened the impact of a 4 percent decline in same-store sales in fiscal 2007 with 23.7 percent growth in online sales of  $903 million, and J.C. Penney partially offset flat store sales with 15 percent growth in online sales to $1.5 billion.