Americans are ever more comfortable shopping online and using the Web to seek out deals, a trend crystallized on November 26, 2010, Cyber Monday, when they spent more than $1 billion online, according to comScore. That was the largest single day of online spending ever, and surpassed 2009 Cyber Monday spending by 16%.
Shoppers (87%) overwhelmingly say that brick-and-mortar stores are better at putting them in the spirit for holiday shopping, but they say online shopping (74%) is the easiest way to complete their gift buying, according to StrategyOne. A slight majority of Americans (54%) say online shopping helps them stay within their budget [ED: This is likely because they are less likely to be tempted to make impulse purchases online]. Americans are more evenly split on where they find the best deals: 52% say online, 48% say in-store.
Nearly half of those with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (49%) prefer to do their holiday shopping online, compared to 37% of those with annual household incomes of $20,000 to $40,000. [Note: According to Pew Research, those with annual household incomes of $75,000 are more likely than those with lesser incomes to have high speed internet access and go online from home frequently; see the related article.]
Social Media
Those with annual household incomes of $50,000 or more (72%) are more likely than those with lesser incomes (67%) to have acted on a retailer’s special deal or promotion they received through social media, notes BIGresearch. Those in the upper income bracket are also more likely than those in the lower income bracket to have signed up to receive messages from retailers via social media (21% vs. 16%).
Young adults are most active on social media, so it should come as no surprise that they are more likely than their older peers to have signed up for notices from retailers and to have acted on a message from a retailer that they received via social media.
Nearly half of Americans who use social networks in the prior month (47%) have used such sites for shopping, according to WSL Strategic Retail. Although Millennials and Gen Yers spend the most time per week on social media, it is Gen Xers who spend the most time using social networks for shopping purposes, an average of 5.5 hours per week. Nearly six in 10 Gen Xers who are on social media (57%) use such sites for shopping-related activity.
Women not only spend more time than men shopping online in a typical week (5.1 hours vs. 4.4 hours), they also spend a greater amount of time using social media for shopping (5.8 hours vs. 4.6 hours).
Overall, 58% of shoppers have used social media — blog posts, online reviews, polls, and ratings — to inform their purchases. That compares to 71% who have relied on factual information such as price comparison and product specifications.
Mobile Media
A report from Research Alert parent EPM Communications, “Profiles Of The U.S. Online Shopper,” highlights statistic from a variety of researchers that reveal the influence of mobile technology on shopping.
More than a third of smartphone owners (37%) have made a purchase from their devices, according to research cited from Compete. Their most common shopping activities from their phones include:
• Looking up information about an item they may purchase online (68%);
• Looking up an address or hours of a store they would like to visit (68%);
• Reviewing a product description (52%);
• Looking up a third-party or consumer reviews while in store (45%);
• Checking the status of an order they placed (43%); and
• Looking for retailer or product coupons (43%).
Among those who have made a purchase from their mobile phone, digital content (65%) is the most common product they have bought, according to PriceGrabber as cited in the report. They have also purchased consumer electronics (57%), books (42%), clothing (34%), computers and related equipment (31%), and jewelry and watches (16%).
Men are active mobile shoppers, according to InsightExpress data cited in the report. Men aged 25-34 are more likely than average to have used a coupon that was already on their phone while shopping (17% vs. 6%). Men aged 25-34 are also more likely than average to have looked for a coupon via their mobile device (21% vs. 6%).
Male mobile shoppers use mobile coupons at:
• Clothing stores (35%);
• Department stores (30%);
• Electronics stores (30%); and
• Service locations (16%).
One reason men are such active mobile shoppers is because they are more likely than women to have smartphones, a key driver of mobile shopping.
Sources: “Billion Dollar Bonanza,” comScore, Andrew Lipsman, Senior Analyst, 500 W. Madison, #2980, Chicago, IL 60661; 312-775-6510; alipsman@comscore.com; www.comscore.com. Price: Call for information.
“Holiday Shopping Index,” StrategyOne, Bradley Honan, SVP, 250 Hudson St., 16th Fl., New York, NY 10013; 212-704-8295; bradley.honan@strategyone.net; www.strategyone.net. Price: Available online at no charge.
“American Pulse, November 2010,” BIGresearch, Phil Rist, VP Strategic Initiatives, 450 W. Wilson Bridge Rd., #370, Worthington, OH 45085; 614-846-0146; phil@bigresearch.com; www.bigresearch.com. Price: Available upon request at no charge.
“How American Shops: From Buzz To Buy,” WSL Strategic Retail, Shilpa Rosenberry, Senior Retail Consultant, 307 7th Ave., #1707, New York, NY 10001; 212-924-7780; srosenberry@wslstrategicretail.com; www.wslstrategicretail.com. Price: $9,500.
“Profiles Of The U.S. Online Shoppers,” EPM Commnications, Ira Mayer, Publisher, 19 W. 21st. St., #303, New York, NY 10010; 212-941-0099; imayer@epmcom.com; www.epmcom.com. Price: $379 for paid subscribers to EPM newsletters; $479 for non-subscribers.
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