Holiday shopping online spurred by mobile sales, report says

NEW YORK -- It was the year smartphones saved Santa.

As expected, numbers out Friday from research firm comScore confirmed mobile shopping, which includes smartphones and tablets, jumped in November and December, spurring on holiday retail sales this year.

Total online spending during November and December rose 13 percent to $69.08 billion from $61.29 billion last year, slightly short of the 14 percent rise comScore, based in Reston, Virginia, was expecting.

Spending on desktops rose 6 percent to $56.43 billion, also short of comScore's expectations of an 8 percent rise to $58.3 billion.

But mobile commerce helped make up some of that shortfall. Shopping on smartphones and tablets jumped 59 percent to $12.65 billion, well above the 47 percent rise comScore was expecting.