With a serious snowstorm bringing the Northeast to a standstill at the end of 2010, brick and mortar stores were sure to suffer losses as consumers hunkered down in their homes.

While this is bad news for businesses that depend on walk in traffic, many believe that online retailers see a considerable increase in sales during very bad weather. Although it is still unclear whether or not the Snowmageddon of 2010 has brought a substantial increase in revenue to eCommerce businesses, data shows that last Christmas season during an east coast snowstorm online retailers saw a 13 percent boost in sales.

Snow or no snow, the 2010 holiday season has been a major cyber success. According to MasterCard’s SpendingPulse eCommerce Index, sales online rose a healthy 15.4 percent from last year to $36.4 billion.