As virus-wary shoppers opt for online purchases, retailers pay the price

LOS ANGELES(Reuters) - Online sales may be a saving grace for pandemic-battered retailers with fewer shoppers in their stores. But many retailers, from department store chain Macy’s Inc to essential retailer Target Corp, are grappling with higher expenses related to e-commerce.

Retailers often use the more lucrative in-store sales to subsidize hefty e-commerce costs, ranging from marketing to fulfillment and shipping. Companies don’t usually break out those expenses, which of late have been overshadowed by massive write-downs for unsold inventory and lower online profits.