While attending Shop.org’s Annual Summit last month, I wondered if online retailers had begun taking cues from psychologist Edward de Bono, who said, “It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.” What is inherently magnificent about the web is that it offers limitless opportunities for retailers willing to think outside the box.

With customers heading online to find better prices or research products before driving across town, it’s no wonder that the web is retail’s silver lining this year. Almost three-fourths of companies surveyed for Shop.org’s “State of Retailing Online” said that websites were better able than stores to withstand a downturn. As a result, retailers are continuing to invest in the online channel to raise the visibility of their company.

When creating its new website, Borders knew that shoppers spent an hour in its stores. In the hopes of recreating that experience online, Borders filled its site with rich content, including author interviews, staff recommendations and cooking demonstrations. The company also created “Magic Shelf” to replicate the store experience of being able to pick up a book and turn it over to read the back.

Other retailers are investing in new concepts that will help consumers easily move back and forth between channels. JCPenney.com recently launched a “Know Before You Go” feature where customers can determine, almost in real time, if an item is in stock at a nearby store. Cabelas.com is boosting the content of its store locator page, adding photos and videos to each store description.

When it comes to dazzling online retail experts, few companies had people buzzing as loudly as Etsy.com, an online marketplace for buying and selling hand-made merchandise like jewelry, artwork and music. The site features a geo-locator so buyers can search by geographic area. And while searching by color is nothing new online, Etsy.com gives customers the opportunity to search by nearly every shade imaginable.

Some new web features require taking a calculated risk. Patagonia introduced a feature that shows customers where they can find out-of-stock merchandise — even if it’s from a competitor. The company determined that the possibility of sending a handful of shoppers to a competitor was worth the customer loyalty it would engender.

Gap, which recently combined its brands under one roof on the web, ran the risk of diluting higher-end brands by partnering them with lower-priced goods. But Gap.com CEO Toby Lenk, who spoke at the Summit, said the biggest traffic beneficiaries of the chain have been Banana Republic and Piper Lime, and that he sees customers aspiring to trade up, not down.

While the retail world has no shortage of creativity, channeling it can be a hurdle. As retailers leverage their websites this holiday season to drive store traffic, grow their brands and increase sales, we are likely to see even more creative — and exciting — concepts emerge.