This is the highest level of weekly non-travel spending recorded to date.

There is an argument going on about whether smaller merchants will continue to proliferate and grow disproportionately or whether you will see big-name, off-line retailers like Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Home Depot compete more effectively online and take over this medium.

Spending patterns last year for the weekend of Dec. 7 when the storm hit were significantly above the average for the holiday season, up 19 percent, ... While it's difficult to predict exactly how consumers will respond this time around, a winter storm certainly does increase the convenience appeal and the likelihood that consumers will shift their spending from offline to online channels.

There is an argument going on about whether smaller merchants will continue to proliferate and grow disproportionately or whether you will see big-name, off-line retailers like Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Home Depot compete more effectively online and take over this medium,

That's a reflection of the maturity of the medium. It's harder to grow at the same rate or higher.

Workplace buyers account for about half the users,