According to this latest comScore report, online U.S holiday spending crossed the $17.5 billion mark within just 35 days; a figure 12% higher compared to last year, continuing the last 5 years’ online retail growth trend.

“Tuesday, November 30 reached $911 million, making it the third heaviest online spending day on record, with Wednesday ($868 million) and Thursday ($850 million) also reaching high levels, although growth rates for the season subsided in the latter half of the week and through the weekend.”

The spending spree is expected to soften towards the weekend, but comScore predicts it will increase next week, which was the trend in the last few years. In light of these statistics, one more highlighted aspect of online retail is free shipping, relevant for over %50 of the holiday season online purchases. The devil is in the details, and small discounts and cash-offers always catch the attention of the public; lately, the same is true for online retailers. %44.8 of 2010 holiday season transactions included free shipping, a rise of %3.9 compared to last year.

Holiday wishlists are also gaining momentum, as more than 60% of retailers included holiday wishlists on their websites. Online wishlists are growing in influence, which can be interpreted as a growing amount of online resources involved with the personal cloud being invested around customer behavior. This suggests a bright outlook for retailers and brands, at least for practical consumer toolst.