Amazon.com Inc. was the top-rated Web shopping site this holiday, according to a Citigroup study released on Friday that considered factors such as simplicity of checkout, price and product assortment.

The Citigroup study rated 44 retail Web sites, from Internet giant eBay Inc. to teen retailer Hot Topic Inc., judging sites on how easy they were to use, visual appeal, ease of checkout, merchandise assortment, delivery, return options and price.

Other top rated sites included those from American Eagle Outfitters , Gap Incs Banana Republic and Talbots Inc. Citigroup noted that although eBays user interface may not have been best-in-class, its vast product selection clearly stands out.

On Thursday, tracking firm comScore Networks said that online retail spending during the 2005 holiday season rose 25 percent over last season to $19.6 billion.

Read more courtesy of reuters