Holiday Online Shopping Outlook Promising But Consumers Will Spend Less Overall
Its October and the Holiday shopping season is rapidly approaching. Good news, right? It is if you are an online shopping site.
According to a recent survey by Burst Media and a related press release, the percent of consumers who expect to complete either a portion or all of their holiday gift purchasing online this year has surged to more than half (50.7%), up from 37.6% in 2006.
While increasing use of the Web for holiday shopping is a positive sign for Internet retailers, there are also signs of economic uncertainty among consumers. Survey results indicate holiday spending is likely to decline from 2006 levels for many consumers. Among survey respondents, one-quarter (25.6%) expect to reduce spending, 36.1% will spend the same amount as the prior year and only 16.8% expect spending to increase. These conservative spending estimates are true even among the highest income segments.