
Holiday shopping online rockets in U.S.
• The RawStory.comShopping via the Internet in the seven weeks before Christmas jumped 15 percent over a year earlier, according to market analysts ComScore.
That bests the estimated 3-4 percent growth of sales in brick-and-mortar stores and shopping centers.
Consumers polled by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) said that they were doing slightly more than one-third of their gift shopping online this year, and just under two-thirds in the stores.
“Holiday e-commerce spending has remained strong throughout the season, and we have now reached a record $35 billion… for the season-to-date,” ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a statement Wednesday.