SmallBusinessNewz

"So far, so good" is the main message conveyed by new stats from comScore.  More money's been spent online during the first five weeks of the November-December shopping season this year than last, and social media marketing efforts appear to be succeeding, too.

Here's the big (and we mean really big) picture: according to a comScore press release, "For the holiday season-to-date, nearly $16 billion has been spent online, marking a 3-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year.  The most recent week ending December 6 reached $4.6 billion in holiday spending, heavier than any individual spending week in 2008 but still below two individual weeks in 2007."

So that's not a bad path to be on.  With luck, procrastinators' spending will keep us above those 2008 levels and perhaps even take down a 2007 record.

As for the social media side of things, this cheap form of advertising is having an effect.  ComScore said, "[R]eading a consumer-generated product review was the most common form of social media that had influenced holiday purchases (13 percent of respondents)," and "6 percent said they have been influenced by a friend's Facebook status update referring to a particular product."  Also, "3 percent said that a friend's 'tweet' about a product influenced their purchase behavior."

Let's hope everything stays on track heading into the last couple weeks of the holiday season.