Americans spend $21.95 billion on online shopping

Online shoppers in America have spent a lot this season and are expected to spend further. according to the latest stats from comScore online shoppers in the United States so far have already spent more than $21.95 billion. That's a 12% increase over the same period last year.

"Growth rates during the most recent week settled in at around 11%, which is consistent with our forecasted spending growth rate for the holiday season," comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a statement. "With more than $5 billion in spending this past week, it's clear that while deal-seeking shoppers may have driven stronger-than-anticipated spending early in the season, Americans continue to demonstrate a significantly greater willingness to spend online this year than in seasons past."

Fulgoni forecasts some of the heaviest online shopping this week. He's also predicting that shoppers will spend past the billion dollar mark on one day between now and Christmas.

Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, was the biggest online holiday spending day in history. ComScore reported at the time that 9 million shoppers spent $1 billion online in a single day, many while using their computers at work.

Later that same week, online spending dropped off dramatically. Then, according to comScore, spending picked up again last week. ComScore said that online spending hit $5.15 billion last week alone, an increase of 11% compared to the same week in 2009.