NRF: Shoppers will use Web for one in four holiday gifts

OCTOBER 30, 2006 - Washington -- If jewelers need yet another reason to ramp up their Web sites for the holidays, they just got it.

A new consumer survey conducted for the National Retail Federation (NRF) by BIGresearch shows that shoppers plan to use the Internet to either browse or make purchases for an average of 28.9 percent of their holiday shopping, or for more than one in four gift purchases."While many shoppers plan to purchase holiday gifts online this year, others are using the Internet to look for gift ideas, research products and compare prices before heading to the store," Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, the online retail division of NRF, said in a press release issued Monday. "Retailers' ongoing efforts to make their stores and Web sites work hand-in-hand will create more sales and happier customers.re

"The sheer number of those planning to make at least one purchase online has increased from 36 percent three years ago to 47.1 percent this year. In addition, many will also use the Internet to browse before heading to stores to buy. According to the survey, a whopping 88.7 percent of consumers regularly or occasionally examine products on the Internet before buying in a store.When it comes to merchandise research, electronics are the most popular searches, with 39.3 percent of those surveyed indicating that they have browsed for electronics online before buying in a store within the last 90 days.

Other merchandise that shoppers have recently studied online before buying in a store includes apparel (20 percent), appliances (19.6 percent) and home improvement items (18 percent). Consumers also said they have researched medicines, vitamins and supplements (16.2 percent), and shoes (16.1 percent) online before purchasing in a store."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 Web sites 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."The survey found that shoppers use a variety of Web sites to research and compare products. The top Web site used for this purpose is Google.com, chosen by 23.6 percent of those surveyed, followed by Yahoo.com, selected by 7.2 percent, Amazon.com, chosen by 5.5 percent, and eBay, selected by 3.7 percent.The NRF 2006 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the winter holidays, polled 7,623 consumers and was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch from Oct. 4-11.