There's no letup in online shopping's potential to generate rich returns for investors.While e-commerce was growing fast before the COVID-19 outbreak, the lockdown phase of the pandemic forced it into hyperdrive. Online sales surged 30% in 2020 compared to the year before and were up another 18% last year, putting e-commerce sales some 54% above where they stood before the global health crisis hit.Although online sales growth has slowed in 2022 from the breakneck pace that was previously being set, sales are still above pre-pandemic levels. Census Bureau year-to-date data shows that through the end of July, "non-store" sales have grown 11% over last year to $740 billion, or almost as much as online retailers tallied in all of 2019.IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.Buying goods and groceries onlin