On the plus side, 10 retailers improved their customer satisfaction scores from last year. ForeSee reported that the biggest gainers included Hewlett-Packard's online store, which rose 7% to a score of 76; Staples, which gained 6% to reach 77; Wal-Mart, which jumped 5% to 78; and Target, which went up 4% to 75.

The online shopping season got off to a slow start this year. But once Dec. 1 hit, with the holiday spirit, according to data compiled by online research firm

Through the first 35 days of the 2008 holiday shopping season -- Nov. 1 to Dec. 5 -- online buyers in the U.S. spent $14.92 billion, about the same amount as they did during that period last year, comScore said.

But Dec. 1, also known as Cyber Monday, was a in its own right. Online shoppers spent $846 million that day, a 15% increase over spending on the Monday after Thanksgiving a year ago, according to another report issued by comScore.

Some analysts said earlier this month that holiday sales probably would have been even stronger had several companies -- including Sears, Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue -- not been hit with that marred the kickoff of online shopping in the days after Thanksgiving.