San Francisco, Dec 25 (DPA) Online shopping in the US rose 15.4 percent this year, to reach a record $36.4 billion, according to a report from Mastercard research firm SpendingPulse.

"Today, e-commerce accounts for a much larger share of overall retail sales compared to a few years ago. And during this holiday season, it registered double-digit growth for six out of seven weeks," said Michael McNamara, vice president at MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse.

The survey found that there were six days during the holiday shopping season where online spending passed the $1 billion mark, compared to just three such billion-dollar days last year.

The most popular online category was apparel, which accounted for 18.8 percent of total sales. Other brights spots included an 11-percent increase in online purchases from department stores, and a 12.2-percent rise in sales of electronics goods. Jewelry had a comparatively modest 4.5-percent increase online, according to SpendingPulse.