Online holiday shopping climbed to a record level on Friday with significant rise in sales across many stores. This came as a positive surprise for web retailers who have been forecasting a lackluster holiday season due to low spending in the wake of global financial crisis hitting consumer purchasing power.

Analysts said that Amazon.com, Wal-Mart Stores Inc’s online services and various other stores reported considerable rise in their revenue through increased appetite for online sales. US online spending, as reported by

Analytics firm comScore, on Black Friday surged 11 per cent to $595 million, with people spending more on online shopping.
comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said, "That's pretty significant in a recessionary environment -- to get a record like that and be that far ahead. I still expect Monday should be a much bigger day online than Black Friday."

People make heavy purchases on Cyber Monday, a day when people resume their work after Thanksgiving weekend. Online firms launch many lucrative offers with huge discounts in a bid to woo customers.
Figures reveal that online spending on Cyber Monday may rise 15 percent to $846 million, thanks to huge discounts offered by various online stores.