Holiday Sales on Internet Up 29%, Report Says

Holiday sales on the Internet climbed 29% over last year, helped by a late surge in gift shopping as more people made purchases online and retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. extended ordering deadlines, ComScore Networks Inc. said.

Excluding travel bookings and purchases of auction items, Web sales rose to $14.8 billion from Nov. 1 through Dec. 26, the Reston, Va.-based Internet research company said. That compares with $11.5 billion in the same period a year earlier.