Week of Dec. 18 sets an online shopping record

NEW YORK — U.S. shoppers spent 14 percent more for online holiday spending during the week ending Dec. 18. The $6.3 billion in spending marked the busiest week in online holiday shopping ever, research firm comScore said Tuesday.

1. More from TODAY.com
   1. Girl, 14, rocks Internet with Van Halen guitar solo
      

      Eddie Van Halen is regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, and now a young girl is racking up YouTube view...

   2. One-of-a-kind African school gives girls 'Right to Dream'
   3. Cops stand in for fallen officer at daughter's kindergarten graduation
   4. Time warp: Official portrait places Queen Elizabeth in imagined scene
   5. Student charged for same-sex relations with minor

Shoppers have spent almost $32 billion online for the holiday season to date, a 15 percent increase from a year ago. The period includes the first 48 days of the holiday season spanning the months of November and December, according to the Reston, Va., company, which tracks Web use.

Online sales passed $1 billion on four separate days during the most recent week, which included Super Saturday, widely known as one of the busiest shopping days of the season each year. The last full weekend before Christmas saw consumers spend $1.04 billion online, making it the second-busiest weekend of online spending on record.

"Cyber Monday" after Thanksgiving, is still the largest online shopping day ever, according to comScore. Sales for that day rose 22 percent from last year to $1.25 billion. Cyber Monday sales topped $1 billion for the first time last year.

ComScore expects up to $6 billion more in e-commerce spending through the end of December.

In a separate report on Tuesday, the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index reported that sales at stores opened at least a year rose 3.4 percent for the week ended Saturday compared with the previous week. The weekly index is a sales proxy for 24 major stores; including Target Corp, Costco Wholesale Corp. and Macy's.

The holiday shopping season can make up to 40 percent of retailers' annual revenue. The online sales data point to Americans' growing comfort with using their personal computers, tablets and smartphones to shop for the holidays.

Discounting and promotions have also boosted shopping this year.