Rugles - 3:27 pm on Jun 26, 2008 (gmt 0)

Online business was terrible after 911 for a few months. If you've never seen a sales downturn then you're probably new to ecommerce.

Not new at all. We had growth during the post 911 downturn, and really impressive growth too. Plus Canada (where I am based) did not have negative growth at the time, we missed the "recession" completely.

My point about this being the first economic downturn was because the post 9-11 downturn was very short. Only a few months of economic negative growth. The massive spending increase by the US government and the dramatic rate cut by the Fed made the downturn very short lived.

This particular economic downturn started last year. We still have not hit bottom. Typically the effects of a recession last at least a few years. The post 9-11 downturn was only several months.

I will stand by my statement that this is the first serious negative economic period during the ecommerce age.