Oct. 12--For years, most shoppers reached Belk stores by car and by foot.

Now, all it takes is a mouse -- a change that catapults the Charlotte-based chain into a group of department stores vying for consumer dollars by offering a broad selection of clothes, shoes, housewares and beauty products online.

The new Belk.com was launched last month, replacing an outmoded site that included gift registries and a limited range of home goods.

Since then, the company has worked to build buzz about its new Internet home, placing ads on an array of sites, running online-only contests and integrating mentions of Belk.com into printed and other promotional materials. That's only the start, Belk officials say.

"It will be our biggest store," spokesman Steve Pernotto said. "We didn't see it as bricks and mortar -- we saw it as an adjunct."

That's important, because as more shoppers head online, department stores need to meet them there, said Larry Joseloff, vice president of content at Shop.org, the online arm of the National Retail Federation, an industry group.

Unlike in the past, when department stores' Web businesses were essentially separate from the in-store experience, retailers have more recently worked to link the two and become consistent, driving sales no matter where they come from, Joseloff said.

"If you don't have a robust Web site, you're really losing out to your competitors who do, and you're taking a tool away from your potential customers to find the merchandise they're looking for," he said. "People will go to Google and search for a product, and if you're not there, you're going to lose."

Even with the economy slumping, e-commerce has not been hit as hard as other retail segments, Joseloff said, in part because it's not as affected by gas prices and can shift to adapt to consumer tastes more quickly than regular stores.

Indeed, even as the economy headed down, department store Web sites received more traffic in August 2008 -- the most recent month for which data is available -- than in the same month the previous year, according to the Nielsen Company.

By allowing customers to browse without coming into the store -- a habit that has grown as more and more households get broadband access -- Web sites complement and reinforce traditional locations. Sites such as Belk's allow customers to return online orders to bricks-and-mortar stores, for instance, which further deepens the connection.

Competition

Belk's competitors are working to capitalize on that, too.

Dillard's, Macy's, J.C.