Online holiday spending soars

RESTON, Va. According to research firm comScore, holiday spending online for the season-to-date has increased 18% over the same period last year. During the first 39 days of the season (Nov. 1 to Dec. 9), consumers spent nearly $19 billion online. Dec. 6 saw online sales rise 28% to $803 million versus last year, making it the Thursday, December 6 recorded $803 million in online sales, up 28% over last year, making it the biggest online spending day in history.

"This past week was very strong for online retailers as consumers spent more than $4.6 billion online, up 20% versus year ago, making it the heaviest week of the holiday season to date," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "Consumers seemingly restrained their early November holiday spending in the hopes of catching some attractive late-season deals, so we expect that the current week will outperform the past week as the heaviest of the season."

Strong performers online this week were consumer electronics, which saw sales rise 43%, and apparel with a 22% gain. Toy sales, however, saw just a 3% growth rate.