Christmas shopping has well and truly begun in the US, and it seems that online retailers are in line for a far stronger holiday period than last year.

Last week saw online sales boosted on the nation's 'Black Friday' – the day after Thanksgiving, to us Brits. Traditionally, the date marks the official start of the US Christmas shopping season.

According to marketing research firm comScore, online spending was up eleven per cent on last year's Black Friday – taking the total for the day alone to nearly six hundred million dollars.

This, the firm says, makes Black Friday the second biggest day of sales in two thousand and nine so far.