While 89% of consumers polled said they prefer to make holiday purchases in stores, 71% said they plan to use the Internet to research and compare products and prices before going to malls, department stores and discount stores, according to the recent Prospectiv Consumer Preference Index.
“Even though the majority of consumers plan to make their holiday purchases in-store this season, the data show effective marketers should use online marketing to drive consumers to their retail locations,” said Jere Doyle, Prospectiv president and CEO.
In addition to doing shopping research online, 35% of consumers said they will increase online spending for gifts this year, Prospectiv said. 45% of shoppers said they would make more online purchases if they got free shipping. And 36% said better sales and online special offers or discounts targeted to their preferences would be incentives to increase their online shopping.
Consumers polled also said that the convenience of being able to shop 24 hours, seven days a week, is the number one reason for buying gifts online, while 19% said they shop the Internet to avoid the holiday crowds, according to Prospectiv.
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