Sunday, December 3, 2000

Shift to Online Shopping Continues

While online consumers still plan to buy a majority of their Christmas gifts at brick-and-mortar stores, they will do more of their Holiday shopping from offline than last year, according to a Goldman Sachs / PC Data study released last week.

On average, online shoppers plan to buy nearly half (47 percent) of their Holiday gifts offline at traditional retailers. The respondents said they play to spend over a third (38 percent) of their gifts on the Internet, and the remainder (15 percent) through catalogs. In 1999, online shoppers expected to buy nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of their gifts at stores and only a quarter (25 percent) online.

“Brick-and-mortar stores remain the preferred shopping venue during the Holidays,” said Cameron Meierhoefer, Internet analyst for PC Data. “Yet slowly but surely, a migration toward web shopping is occurring, especially for online consumers who look to the web as an opportunity to beat the Holiday rush and avoid crowds they’ll find in stores.”

“Contrary to general perception, consumers find that online shopping provides a higher level of satisfaction than shopping at traditional retail stores,” said Anthony Noto, Goldman Sachs Internet analyst.

For those who chose the web over stores, the top motivation to shop online is to avoid crowds (63.5 percent), according to the study. Fifty-two percent believe it is “easier to compare products and prices online,” while nearly 45 percent are attracted by “access to wider selection of products.” Thirty-four percent cited “lower item prices” as the prime reason for shopping online.

For those who chose the web over stores, the top motivation to shop online is to avoid crowds (63.5 percent), according to the study. Fifty-two percent believe it is “easier to compare products and prices online,” while nearly 45 percent are attracted by “access to wider selection of products.” Thirty-four percent cited “lower item prices” as the prime reason for shopping online.

Home Internet users spent an estimated $1.132 billion online during Nov. 13-19, the week prior to “Black Friday” and the Thanksgiving holiday. This compares with $261 million during the comparable time period in 1999.

Top 10 High Traffic Websites
Nielsen//NetRatings Global Internet Index for October has identified the top 10 highest traffic Websites. And the winners are:

1) Yahoo!
2) AOL
3) MSN
4) Lycos
5) Microsoft
6) Excite@Home
7) Disney's Go Network
8) AltaVista
9) About
10) Amazon.com

News Tidbits (appears every day on front page)
- An article in the Mercury News says that, according to analysts, eToys and Buy.com are endangered and will need to perform well this Holiday season in order to survive.