Online Shopping Exceeded Expectations

Online shopping exceeded expectations this holiday. That was the good news from online research firm Jupiter Media Metrix, which found that online shopping sites saw a 55 percent increase in visitors this holiday season, with 52.3 million unique visitors e-shopping in the week ending Dec. 16 versus 3.2 million during the same week last year. The bad news is apparel did not rank as a “notable category gainer” and fashion Web sites did not make Jupiter’s list of “top gaining sites.” Consumers chose to spend their e-cash on electronics, flowers, food and furniture.