Hitwise reports that shopping sites of various sorts accounted for an unprecedented share of internet usage between the beginning of November and Christmas. The 9.1 percent share of site usage proved 25.6 percent higher than last year's figures. Interestingly, the day-to-day traffic patterns directly matched the patterns of last year's online shopping, perhaps proving a useful predictive tool for next year. Big winners included music download sites, and those of bricks and mortar department stores who saw people researching how to return goods they'd been given on December 25. Kohls and Macy's, for example, made large leaps in the retail category, as did eBay, presumably where people have found an alternative way to unload unwanted gifts.