According to the recently released 2011 retail report from the Commerce Department, approximately 5 percent of all retail expenditures – or 5 cents for every U.S. dollar – was spent shopping online. That marks a notable 16 percent increase from 2010, with online spending crossing the $61 billion milestone for the year as a whole.

Since 1999, Americans have been shopping online more frequently. Over the past 12 years, ecommerce's market share has grown eightfold. Despite the economic recession, ecommerce has remained consistent, only experiencing stagnation instead of suffering the retreat other sectors did.

"Cyber sales are soaring since more people feel comfortable buying online, and the real game changer this past holiday season has been the increased use of smartphones … to shop online," economist Chris Christopher of IHS Global Insight told Rent-to-Own News. "Online retailers are starting to make a dent in the brick-and-mortar business model. Many chain stores are looking to cyber space to supplement weak in-store sales."

Moreover, some retail sectors tend to see even more online activity. For example, sporting goods, hobby shops, books and music retailers have gained ground, while electronic and appliance retailers have improved their market share even more. Even more startling, the news source notes, is that the online sales of traditional brick-and-mortar merchants are counted as in-store in the Commerce Department's report, so in reality, ecommerce could be even bigger than the data suggests.

"But there are still some brick-and-mortar retailers who have little to fear from the internet," Rent-to-Own News adds. "In the fourth quarter of 2011, gas stations represented 11 percent of all retail sales, up from 10 percent during the recession and 7 percent in 1999. Part of that is due to rising prices at the pump, but gas also is something you still have to go out to purchase."

The Commerce Department's report is even more optimistic than recent research released by comScore, which suggested ecommerce spending was up only 14 percent to $50 billion in 2011. The research firm noted that digital content and subscriptions, jewelry and watches, consumer electronics, toys and hobbies and computer software were the big 2011 drivers.