• Cincinnati Inquirer; Bloomberg, Tuesday, December 1, 2009 10:45 AM

David Holthaus reports that online shoppers spent about $900 million online yesterday and that employees will spend an average of 14.4 hours shopping from a work computer this holiday season, according to the Information Systems Audit and Control Association.

That's not only great news for the likes of "traditional" online retailers such as Amazon, Macys.com and Bestbuy.com, but also for some upscale newcomers to the Web such as the Italian fashion houses Giorgio Armani and Valentino, Bloomberg's Chiara Remondini and Armorel Kenna report. Designer Roberto Cavalli and shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo SpA have also opened e-stores recently.

Younger, more Internet-savvy consumers and "luxury shame" that's causing customers to shun boutiques are contributing to a boom in online fashion sales, they report. "People feel guilty about going shopping," says Paola Durante, Bank of America Merrill Lynch director of investment banking. Men, in particular, are drawn to the Web because they can shop much faster than they can in crowded stores, according to Alessandro Perego, a professor in charge of research on e-commerce at Milan Politecnico's School of Management.

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