Thirty Percent of Internet Users Will Shop Online for Holidays

The 13th annual Mood Survey: Retail Holiday Outlook conducted by Deloitte & Touche and the National Retail Federation included a section about online shopping this year. The study concluded that holiday shopping via the Internet is continuing to grow in importance among shoppers.

Several market research firms have made predictions on the holiday e-commerce revenue for 1998. CyberAtlas presents a summary of these predictions for your convenience.

According to the Deloitte & Touche study, the 30 percent of Internet users who will be making purchases over the Internet will spend an average of $270 for each expenditure. That’s 27 percent of their total gift budget, up from 25 percent last year.

“With nearly one-third of consumers now using the Internet, retailers recognize the importance of having an online presence,” says Harvey Braun, co-chairman of Deloitte Consulting’s Global Consumer Business Practice. “Web sites can be used to enhance value to the customer and help boost sales for the retailer.”

Other findings from the survey include:

• 26 percent of retailers have sites on the Internet, up from 8 percent two years ago
• 54 percent of Internet users made an online purchase in the last 12 months
• The average user spent $990
• The top three products purchased over the Internet are computers and software, airline tickets, and books

Purchases of airline tickets and computers drove drove the average dollar amount spent to $990. The median amount was $300.

The survey was done in October of this year. A questionnaire was completed by 50 retailers, and 1,000 consumers were surveyed.

If you’re having trouble keeping track of the holiday online shopping predictions, the following table should sum it up.

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