Online shopping lets US export consumer lifestyle worldwide

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - As gift-buying frenzy mounts in the days before Christmas, United States (US) retailers are exporting the country's shopping culture along with once hard-to-get goods to locales around the world.
Spending at US 'e-commerce' websites climbed 15 per cent from the previous year by the start of December, and online sales on the 'Cyber Monday' after Thanksgiving set a new record high of US$1.25 billion (S$1.62 billion), according to comScore.
The international share of the Cyber Monday shopping tally climbed to nearly seven per cent, the industry tracker reported.
'Black Friday and Cyber Monday are definitely American exports,' said Michael DeSimone, chief executive of New York-based FiftyOne, which specialises in helping US store websites handle international transactions.

Source : The Straits Times