Despite a quivering global economy, people have been spending a lot of money on gifts this holiday season, and much of that is online. In a comparison between this year and last, U.S. consumers have spent $32 billion dollars online, a 15% increase from last year.

Online holiday retail sales have been climbing steadily over the past several years, but 2011 has seen the most significant jumps in transactions. According to a ComScore report, the last week (December 12th through the 18th) generated an incredible $6.3 billion dollars in U.S. online retail sales.

With online retailers offering huge incentives like free shipping and discounts, and a well-emerging digital download market for ebooks, music, movies, games, and apps, consumers are spending their money in cyberspace instead of the traditional brick and mortar stores of last century.

What will this mean for future generations? Granted, stores and malls were overloaded with shoppers during last month's Black Friday, but are we going to eventually see a shift where most consumers will nix the lines, the crowds, and the physical interaction of the traditional store for the convenience of online shopping? Judging by the numbers, we're already getting there.

Let's get some feedback! Did you and your family do the majority of your holiday shopping online or did you stick with traditional brick and mortar stores?