NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Did most of your holiday shopping online this year? Join the club.

Online holiday shopping reached $30.1 billion, excluding travel, during the holidays, a 30 percent jump from the year earlier, according the Goldman Sachs & Co., Nielsen//NetRatings and Harris Interactive "Holiday eSpending Report" released Thursday.

"E-commerce is gaining ground amongst consumers during the holiday season due to its convenience, product selection and lower prices," Heather Dougherty, senior retail analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings, said in a statement.

Online shoppers spent most of their dollars -- $5.3 billion -- on clothing, 42 percent more than last year.

"Apparel remains one of the more dominant product categories during the holiday season, mirroring offline holiday retail behavior," Dougherty said.

Computer hardware and accessories were the second most popular category, showing a 126 percent year-over-year growth in online revenue, the report said.

IPods and other consumer electronics made up the second fastest growing category, jumping 109 percent year-over-year.

"Computer hardware and consumer electronics had a stellar season with the price reductions for laptops, plasma TVs, color printers as well as high demand for iPods, digital cameras and media accessories. The 2005 holiday season was a gadget year for consumers of all ages, and consumers continued to show their love for free shipping," Dougherty said.

The "Holiday eSpending Report" polled over 8,600 shoppers over the course of the holiday season between Oct. 29 and Dec. 23. There was a 3.1 percent margin of error.

Separately, market research firm comScore Networks on Thursday reported that total online holiday spending from Nov. 1 through Dec. 25 -- excluding travel, auctions and large corporate purchases -- came in at $18.11 billion, up 25 percent over the same period a year ago.

The strong showing was partly a result of a late-season buying binge that occurred in the final two weeks leading up to Christmas, the report said.

The top three online product categories ranked by dollar sales were computer hardware with $4.1 billion spent this holiday season, up 14 percent over last year; sales of apparel and accessories raked in $3 billion dollars online, an increase of 37 percent versus a year ago, while online consumer electronics sales jumped 20 percent to $1.3 billion spent on online holiday purchases, the report said.

"We're seeing another terrific holiday season for online spending," comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni, said in a statement.

The growth of 25 percent we're now seeing versus year ago is slightly ahead of our initial forecast of 24 percent growth, reflecting the aggressive price discounting offered by online merchants late in the season and consumers' increased confidence in expedited shipping," he said.

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