Internet Takes Over Window-Shopping; 29% Holiday Shopping Goes Online
From
browsing to buying, the Internet will play a larger role than ever in
holiday shopping this year as almost 88.7%of consumers regularly or
occasionally examine products on the Internet before buying in a store, according
to a new survey conducted for the National Retail Federation by
BIGresearch.
- electronics (39.3%)
- apparel (20.0%)
- appliances (19.6%)
- home improvement items (18.0%)
- medicines, vitamins and supplements (16.2%)
- shoes (16.1%)
“Companies view the Internet as a marketing opportunity, not only a sales channel,” said Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy at BIGresearch. “Retailers see their websites as the first connection they make with many consumers and will be sprucing up their sites to give holiday shoppers ideas and information on popular gifts.” That is significant for electronic-product powerhouses such as Best Buy Co., Circuit City Stores Inc., Sears Holdings Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which must increasingly keep their Web sites as dynamic and energetic as their stores, writes WSJ.
The survey found that shoppers use a variety of websites to research and compare products. Popular places for shoppers to begin searching for merchandise availability, prices and product specifics include:
- Google.com (23.6%)
- Yahoo.com (7.2%)
- Amazon.com (5.5%)
- eBay (3.7%)
