Newswise — Consumers are willing to spend more for the holidays, but only if retailers offer free shipping and exclusive online incentives, according to the latest Consumer Internet Barometer, released today. The Barometer, produced by The Conference Board and TNS, one of the world's largest market information companies, covers 10,000 households across the country and tracks who is doing what on the Internet.
More than 90 percent of consumers said free shipping would serve as an incentive to spend more online this holiday season and more than 65 percent said special offers or deals not available in stores would boost their online spending. Half of holiday shoppers would be willing to spend more if the merchandise offered was available exclusively online. An equal proportion said that the ability to return items to a store would make them point and click more often. And, 35 percent said free return postage would increase their online holiday purchases.
"Consumers are clearly willing to increase their online holiday purchases, but only if retailers are willing to offer holiday bargains online that are better than or different from what they are offering in stores," says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "If retailers want to increase their share of the online market, free shipping, exclusivity and bargains are sure ways to get consumers to point, click and order more during the holidays."
More Holiday Jingle in the Store Register When it comes to holiday spending, consumers are saving their bigger purchases for in-store shopping. Only 5 percent of online households plan to spend more than $500 online this holiday season, while 30 percent plan to spend less than $100 online. Conversely, 22 percent of online households plan to spend more than $500 in stores, while 16 percent plan to spend less than $100 in stores. This holiday season, books, movies, and clothing are at the top of consumers' online shopping lists.
What Kind of Online Consumer Are You?The Consumer Internet Barometer segments respondents into five self-selected online shopping categories: die-hard, bargain hunters, traditional shoppers, last-resort shoppers and hurried.
The number of shoppers who prefer point-and-click shopping over stores has increased overall over the past three years. "Die-hard" shoppers accounted for 17 percent of consumers who made an online purchase in the past three months, up from just 12 percent three years ago.
Bargain hunters remain the most common type of online shopper, as more than 40 percent of online shoppers are self-proclaimed bargain hunters. Bargain hunters, however, were more common three years ago, when about 45 percent of consumers classified themselves as such.
Traditional shoppers, who occasionally shop online but prefer the familiarity of brick and mortar stores, account for about 16 percent of online shoppers, and are the third most common type of Internet shopper. Last-resort shoppers, who buy online only when products are unavailable in stores, rank fourth on the list and represent 15 percent of online shoppers. Lastly, there are the hurried shoppers who point and click only when time is limited. This group has decreased in size and represents only 11 percent of online shoppers.
Gender Gap Closes In the past, bargain hunters were more likely to be men than women, but today almost as many women as men are scouring the Internet for bargains. Some 40 percent of women and 43 percent of men are self-proclaimed bargain hunters, compared with less than 40 percent of female shoppers and nearly 50 percent of male shoppers three years ago. Among Internet die-hards, traditional and last-resort shoppers, there is little difference among the sexes.
For both sexes, the most frustrating aspects of shopping online are shipping charges, not being able to physically handle merchandise, and having to give out credit card information.
About This Survey:The Consumer Internet Barometer is based on a quarterly survey of 10,000 households. A unique sample is surveyed each quarter. Return rates average 70 percent, which ensures highly representative data. Data is weighted as well to reflect the latest U.S. household demographic information. The latest survey was conducted during the fourth quarter of 2006.
About The Conference Board Non-partisan and not-for-profit, The Conference Board is one of the world's leading business membership and research organizations. The Conference Board produces The Consumer Confidence Index and the Leading Economic Indicators for the U.S. and other major nations. These barometers can have a major impact on the financial markets. The Conference Board also produces a wide range of authoritative reports on corporate governance and ethics, human resources and diversity, executive compensation and corporate citizenship. Our conference and council programs bring together more than 10,000 senior executives each year to share insights and learn from each other. Visit The Conference Board website at http://www.conference-board.org. About TNS
TNS is a market information group:
"¢ The world's largest provider of custom research and analysis. "¢ A leader in political and social polling."¢ A major supplier of consumer panel, media intelligence and internet, TV and radio audience measurement services.
TNS operates across a global network in over 70 countries, allowing us to provide internationally consistent, up-to-the-minute and high quality information and analysis.
The group's employees deliver innovative thinking and excellent service to local and multi-national clients worldwide. In the custom business, they combine in-depth sector knowledge with expertise in the areas of new product development, positioning and segmentation research, brand and advertising research and stakeholder management.
TNS' strategic goal is to be recognised as the global leader in delivering value added information and insights that help our clients to make more effective decisions.
TNS is the sixth sense of business.http://www.tns-global.com
RSS