• December 28, 2004

Online shopping and classified sites accounted for 9.1 percent of all U.S. Internet visits between Nov. 1 and Dec. 25, 2004, reflecting a jump of 25.6 percent compared to the same time last year, according to a report released Tuesday by research firm Hitwise.

For the week ending December 25, shopping and classifieds was the third most popular category with Web surfers--accounting for 8.72 percent of visits, behind adult-oriented sites (17.44 percent) and search engines and directories (14.25 percent).

Hitwise also found that visits to music sites spiked on Christmas Day, with iTunes leaping to 37th place on Dec. 25 from 85th on Dec. 24, and MusicMatch soaring to 46th place from 79th. Hitwise attributed the leap to gifts of MP3 players, iPods, and online gift certificates.

The top three shopping and classified sites for the week ending on Christmas Day were eBay, Amazon, and Dell USA.

-- Wendy Davis