Christmas was not all that disappointing for retailers after all, at least according to data shared by MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse, which revealed that US retail sales hiked by an estimated 3.6% this holiday season as compared to last year, mainly on the back of online shopping and sales of electronics.

The spending estimate, like every year, has been for the period from November 01 to December 24, and automotive and gasoline sales have not been included. A surge in sales during the week leading to Christmas helped year-on-year electronics sales hike by 6% since Black Friday on November 27, and 5.9% for the holiday season commencing on November 1.

Most of the shopping, as per SpendingPulse, happened online, with sales rising by a record 18% from November 27 to December 24.

"People were more comfortable doing last-minute shopping online, especially with the bad weather", Kamalesh Rao, Director of Economic Research for SpendingPulse, said.

No forecasts, however, have been provided by the agency for holiday sales, but the National Retail Federation has shared that there are good chances that there will be a 1% fall in US spending for the season.