The East Coast was clobbered by a blizzard this week, which may have adverse effect on retailers in the region. According to CNN, the storm is discouraging many shoppers from spending during the "crucial" post-Christmas period.

"Holiday 2010 just went from a truly Merry Christmas for retailers to a lost weekend with retailers scrambling to recover lost sales," Marshal Cohen, a retail analyst, told the news source. "The loss of post-Christmas weekend is brutal."

Cohen added that sales during the holiday in parts of the Midwest were slowed by snow. He estimates that merchants could lose up to .5 percent of their total holiday sales due to the weather conditions.

Regions on the East Coast were hit with as much as 31 inches of snow, which created dangerous driving conditions. Decreased traffic leads to decreased business for many retailers. However, it's likely that some shoppers who are still anxious to take advantage of post-Christmas sales will look online.

Many consumers opted to save online this holiday season. According to Bloomberg, online sales from Halloween through December 22 of this year reached $36.4 billion, a significant increase over 2009.