American Pulse(TM): Online Shoppers Purchasing on Internet More, "Brick and Mortars" Less; Factors Include Price, Selection & Deals

Top Online Retailers for Holiday Purchases: Discount, Department, Electronics


COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - January 12, 2011) - 44.8% of online shoppers say they are making more online purchases than they did a year ago and 37.8% are shopping in stores less, according to the latest American Pulse™ Survey of 5,244 respondents. And it seems that the reason could be as simple as the "Four P's."

When going head-to-head, online retailers beat traditional "brick and mortar" stores when it comes to online shoppers' perception of product assortment, price and promotion, but fall short when it comes to customer service.

Online Shoppers 18+      
  Online In Stores Same
Where do you find the best assortment? 46.3% 16.0% 37.6%
Where do you get the best price? 50.2% 14.4% 35.4%
Which has the best sales/promotions? 35.0% 28.6% 36.4%
Where do you get the best customer service? 19.8% 49.7% 30.5%

Source: American Pulse™, Jan-11

For complete complimentary report: http://www.formsite.com/prosper/ampulse011211/

Interestingly, 70% of online shoppers prefer to shop at an online retailer that also has a traditional storefront. Further, 62.3% would rather make a return in-person in a store; 27.4% say they would rather ship it back.

Of those who shopped online for holiday gifts this past season, 55.9% say they shopped at on online only retail site, making it the most shopped retailer type. Discount (45.1%), Department (30.9%), Electronic (25.4%) and Auction (24.8%) retail sites round out the top five.

48.4% say that they enjoyed the shopping experience at a brick and mortar retail store and an online retailer equally. 32.9% say they liked the online experience most; 13.7% say in store.

Speaking of the holidays, how about that holiday spending hangover? 27.5% of Americans say they over spent and 61.4% of those say it will impact future purchases. Find out which ones in a special complimentary analysis on Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/prosperbusinessdev/holiday-spending-hangover

Also on Slideshare, a look at how Americans view the debt ceiling, if a Republican-controlled House of Representatives can fix the economy and the #1 word used to describe the state of the union in 2010: http://www.slideshare.net/prosperbusinessdev/current-national-issues

American Pulse™
The American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch® twice a month exclusively utilizing SSI's U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, pop culture and the economy. 5,244 respondents participated in the 1st January American Pulse conducted 1/4-1/6/2010. Margin of error is +/- 1.4%. www.bigresearch.com

Survey Sampling International (SSI)
Survey Sampling International (www.surveysampling.com) is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI reaches respondents in 72 countries via Internet, telephone and mobile/wireless. Client services include questionnaire design consultation, programming and hosting, and data processing. SSI serves more than 2,000 clients, including 48 of the top 50 research organizations. Founded in 1977, SSI has 17 offices in 15 countries.

Contact Information:

BIGresearch
Chrissy Wissinger

203-567-7230