RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – The economy doesn’t concern shoppers as much as many fear when it comes to their shopping habits and more than half of people in a new Channel Advisor survey say they plan to do Christmas shopping online this year.

We found the results generally reflect some of our own shopping habits and those of people we know. We do a significant part of our own shopping online now, usually preceded by information searches via Google or other search engines. Like many surveyed, we don’t care what retail outlet sells us a product, but rather shop for price and reliable service.

Channel Advisor, which describes itself as a solution provider that enables online retailers to improve efficiency and increase revenue, says significant findings from its 2010 Consumer Shopping Habits Survey show:

• 58 percent of those surveyed plan to purchase their gifts online this year, besting brick-and-mortar stores by nearly 20 points.
• The economy doesn’t seem to be as big of a factor as some may believe for the consumers we surveyed: 41 percent said that their shopping habits were unaffected by the state of the economy, and 43 percent think the economy is bouncing back.
• When browsing for a gift idea, 59 percent of those surveyed started on search engines, followed by marketplaces at 28 percent. Only 10 percent started directly at a retailer’s webstore.
• Consumers are not as retail-name conscious as one may expect: 67 percent said they would purchase an identical product from an unknown store if the store offered a better value.
• When asked what promotion enticed shoppers to purchase, “best price” was most popular, followed closely by “free shipping,” and then “trusted seller status.”
• Reviews are exceedingly important as 92 percent of consumers said they read product reviews. Of that 92 percent, 46 percent were influenced to purchase based upon the reviews, and 43 percent were deterred from purchasing. The other 3 percent said their decision was unaffected by the reviews.
• When asked what makes a webstore trustworthy, consumers overwhelmingly listed the following three answers, in ranking order: security verification, reviews and webstore aesthetic.

ChannelAdvisor surveyed hundreds of consumers across the country for the Consumer Shopping Habits Survey to learn online shopping habits, thoughts on the economy, recognition of and comfort with new technology and much more.

Muti-channel approach still best

However, comparing the changes over the years has yielded interesting results as well. For example, when asked how much they spent online per month, consumers selecting more than $76 (the highest monetary option given) increased by 27 percent from 2009 to 2010.

The main takeaway from the survey that has stayed constant over the years: a multichannel approach is still the best way to reach consumers when and where they are shopping online. Complete survey results are available in the free white paper entitled, “Through the Eyes of the Consumer,” which can be downloaded here: www.channeladvisor.com/consumersurvey. — Allan Maurer

To contact TechJournal South Editor & Writer Allan Maurer: Allan at TechJournalSouth dot com.