US online spending in the first three months of this year surged with a little help from shoppers using tablet computers to buy clothing and other items, comScore reported on Wednesday.
E-commerce sales of $44.28 billion in the quarter were 17 percent higher than in the same period last year, according to the industry tracker.
"The first quarter of this year was especially strong for retail e-commerce as we returned to year-over-year growth rates in the high teens, numbers we haven't seen since 2007,"said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.
"While the economic recovery continues to be painfully slow, the channel shift to e-commerce appears to be accelerating."
Hot categories for online shopping included consumer electronics, jewelry, watches, event tickets, and digital content such as films, music or software, according to comScore.
The online retail survey indicated that 38 percent of US tablet computer owners have used the devices to shop online in the past month with apparel being the most common purchase.
