According to the 2009 Mindset of a Multi-Channel Shopper Survey 55% of surveyed shoppers plan to do their holiday shopping online this year – that’s up 12% over last year.
The shopping survey also reports that 26% of surveyed shoppers plan to purchase more gifts using the Internet this year – up 24% over last year.
Highlights pulled directly from survey:
* Eighty-eight percent of shoppers are willing to pay full price for hard-to-find products, customer conveniences and effective customer service such as an 800 number, online chat, simple-to-use order status, and email alerts when orders are shipped.
* Eighty-five percent of survey respondents report the primary reason for shopping online is still time savings, but 40 and 38 percent of shoppers respectively also rate wish lists and reviews as increasingly important.
* Books, clothing, music, gift certificates, toys, and consumer electronics are the top product categories shoppers are likely to purchase online by at least 33 percent of respondents.
* Sixty-two percent of shoppers report that high shipping charges remain the primary reason they will not buy more online, highlighting the fact that free shipping offers will again be very compelling this season.
* While shoppers indicated a desire to remain loyal to their favorite retailer, 70 percent indicated that they are likely to shop competitors’ websites or retail stores when they encounter out-of-stock products this holiday season.
* In-store pick-up for products purchased online was cited as important by 60 percent of shoppers.
* One in three shoppers plan to use a mobile phone for shopping-related purposes such as price checks, in-stock checks, and redemption of promotions this holiday season.
* This holiday season social networking sites will influence shopping behavior for 37percent of online shoppers versus
24 percent last year.