Consumers will shop online but buy offline this holiday season, says a new survey from online marketing services company CoolSavings Inc. 81% of 1,716 consumers that CoolSavings surveyed earlier this month said they will research gift selections online to save time while 82% said they plan to do most of their shopping offline. The most popular items for online research were electronics, which 56% of households said they will research online, toys, cited by 38%, books and music, 37%, and clothing 33%.
60% of consumers in the survey said they use online coupons in stores, 34% said they look for online promotional offers, 31% use e-mail notifications to find store sales or special offers, and 13% use online gift/wish lists.
CoolSavings also asked what drew consumers into stores. 32% said they wanted to experience "the feeling of the season," 16% liked shopping with family and friends and 4% said they liked to look at store decorations.
Among those who shop online, free shipping was the strongest incentive, cited by 34%. Convenience also was important (33%) and the ability to quickly comparison shop registered with 23%.
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