Internet to Influence Almost 30% of Holiday Purchases

According to a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation (NRF) Internet purchases will be at an all-time high this holiday season. Shoppers saying they will make 29 percent of purchases online. Nearly half of consumers plan to make at least one holiday purchase on the internet, up from 36 percent three years ago. Almost all consumers (88 percent) indicated they examine products on the internet before buying in a store.

The NRF forecasts put spending at an average of $791 per shopper on holiday merchandise. According to BIGResearch, who conducted the survey, retailers see websites as the initial connection with shoppers and will decorate their websites to give holiday shoppers incentive to purchase gifts.

The most popular starting points for shoppers included Google.com (24 percent), Yahoo.com (7 percent), Amazon.com (6 percent) and eBay (4 percent).