US shoppers are turning to their computers rather than brave Christmas shopping, according to an online poll. Apparently online shopping rose 15.4 percent to $36.4 billion for the holiday shopping season.

A MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse report showed oonline sales registered double-digit growth in six out of seven weeks since October 31.  SpendingPulse's Michael McNamara said eCommerce accounts for a much larger share of overall retail sales compared to a few years ago.

Most of the shopping was for apparel, where online shopping accounted for 18.8 percent of overall sales in that category, up from 16.9 percent in 2009. Buying socks for those relatives you never think about for the rest of the year has never been easier. Electronics spending has also recorded significant gains, SpendingPulse said. 

One reason for the gain might be the fact that it has been freezing in most of the Northern Hemisphere. Who wants to wrestle with legions of people shopping for Christmas presents in the ice and the snow when you could be sitting at your computer with a nice mug of mulled wine.