WebProNews

 More people plan to shop online during the holiday season this year (55%) compared to last year (49%), according to a new survey by MarketLive and the E-Tailing Group.

More than a quarter (26%) of shoppers plan to buy more gifts online, up from 21 percent last year. Eighty-five percent of consumers report the main 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.

The majority (88%) of holiday shoppers are willing to pay full price for difficult to find items, customer conveniences and good customer service such as an 800 number, online chat, and email alerts when orders are shipped.

Lauren Freedman
President of E-Tailing Group

The most popular items shoppers are likely to buy online include books, clothing, music, gift certificates, toys and electronics, cited by 33 percent of respondents.

“It’s exciting to see shoppers continue to embrace the web channel, especially in these challenging economic times,” said Lauren Freedman, President of the e-tailing group.

“We as merchants must remain vigilant and deliver truly convenient, compelling and customer-service oriented experience to continue to reap market share channel gains.  With this, and other findings from the report, retailers can implement targeted strategies that will greatly improve business results for 2009 and beyond.”

Other highlights from the survey include:

• 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.