• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, December 1, 2005

Online sales on the Monday after Thanksgiving shot up to $485 million--marking a 26 percent increase from last year's Black Monday, according to data by comScore Networks.

The four categories that gained the most year-over-year were video game consoles and accessories; apparel and accessories; consumer electronics; and home and garden, which includes small kitchen appliances as well as linens and garden/patio items.

Online sales for the four-day Thanksgiving weekend surged by 26 percent to $925 million--from $737 million in 2004, according to comScore. Additionally, sales for almost the entire month of November saw a 24 percent gain, reaching $7.93 billion by Nov. 28--up from $6.37 for the same period last year.

Rival research company Nielsen//NetRatings also reported a jump in holiday traffic this year. On Black Friday alone, more than 17.1 million Web users visited an online shopping site on Friday, marking a 29 percent increase from the 13.2 million Internet users to visit an e-commerce site on the Friday after last year's Thanksgiving.

For the last two years, online retail overall peaked during the second week in December in both 2003 and 2004, according to comScore. Last year, that week saw sales surpass $2.5 billion, according to comScore.