Three Out of Four Holiday Shoppers Will Buy Gifts Online and Most Are Likely to Purchase from Small Businesses: Study

WebKnowHow
Thursday, November 16, 2006; 09:00 AM

Three out of four (76 percent) holiday shoppers said they plan to shop for holiday gifts online, and a similar number, 75 percent, said they are likely to purchase gifts online from small businesses, according to a new survey commissioned by Yahoo! Small Business and conducted by Harris Interactive. Survey respondents expressed strong support for e-commerce with small businesses that offer a secure payment system, easy customer checkout and free shipping.

Nearly a third of holiday shoppers (30 percent) said that they would do half or more of their holiday shopping online, and nearly two thirds (63 percent) said online specialty, ‘niche,’ or boutique retailers are one of the “best places” to shop for unusual or hard-to-find gifts.

“Many consumers rely on small businesses that are online during the holiday shopping season because they offer variety, value and unique gifts that aren’t always available in stores,” said Rich Riley, vice president and general manager of Yahoo! Small Business, the division of Yahoo! that powers more than 40,000 online stores. “The survey shows that shoppers have high expectations, but also high confidence in buying holiday gifts online with small businesses.”

The nationwide survey of 2,766 U.S. online adults is being released in advance of the beginning of the peak holiday shopping season. The survey, conducted in late October, measured sentiment among the general online adult population about holiday shopping online.

The survey results offer important clues for small businesses in gaining trust, and ultimately, sales from consumers. More than half (55 percent) of those who plan to shop for holiday gifts online said it was important for their favorite specialty or gift stores to have an online presence. Shoppers also expressed strong support for an online shopping experience that is both simple and secure.

As for getting the attention of holiday shoppers, most of those U.S. adults who plan to shop online said recommendations from friends and family (60 percent) and search engines (57 percent) are top influencers in identifying small online businesses for holiday gift buying. Other important influencers or information sources include advertising on radio, in newspapers and on television (28%), online banner or display advertising (10%), blogs and “social media” Web sites such as video sharing and social networking (6%).

“The survey results confirm that consumers are eager to shop online with small retailers. However, they have high expectations for the online shopping experience,” said Greg Sterling, principal, Sterling Market Intelligence. “Small businesses must therefore have sites that offer a level of performance and ease of use comparable to their larger competitors.”

One fifth (20 percent) of online holiday shoppers said they will do holiday shopping online while at work. Men are somewhat more likely to shop while on the job, with nearly one out of four (24 percent) saying they would shop online at work, compared to 17 percent of women. In addition, younger workers are more likely to shop online at work. According to the survey, one-fourth (26 percent) of those age 18-44 said they would shop online at work, compared to 13 percent of those age 45 and older.

Harris Interactive fielded the study on behalf of Yahoo! Small Business from October 27-31, 2006, via its QuickQuerySM online omnibus, among 2,766 U.S. adults age 18 and over, including 2,413 who plan to do any holiday gift shopping. Data were weighted to be representative of the total U.S. online adult population on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, race/ethnicity and amount of time spent online.

With a pure probability sample of 2,413, one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results would have a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points. Sampling error for data based on sub-samples would be higher and would vary. However, that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.