The holiday season's sixth week, ended December 4, accounted for 33 percent more online shopping trips than the corresponding week a year ago, according to the Nielsen/NetRatings Holiday eShopping Index, which comprises some 100 representative online retailers across 10 categories. Last year, the index showed shoppers visiting retail sites 348.3 million times during the week; this year, the number increased to 462.5 million.

The week's fastest-growing category was Books/Music/Video, with the number of shopping visits increasing a whopping 238 percent from last year. Apparel was second with a 38 percent increase; Toys/Video Games, Home and Garden, and Retail each had 28 percent growth, and Consumer Electronics visits increased 27 percent.

In the first six weeks of the 2005 holiday season, the Holiday eShopping Index increased 39 percent - i.e., comparing week 1 (ended Oct. 30) with week 6 (ended Dec. 4).