PayPal remains a popular method of payment for consumers, with 33.9 percent of those involved in the study expressing their preference to pay for their holiday gifts with this service. Nearly 11.5 percent of shoppers have revealed plans to use a gift card or gift certificate, 6.6 percent mentioned Bill Me Later, 5.5 percent will use Checkout by Amazon and only 1.8 percent will select Google Checkout.
Because of the shopping convenience the online channel ensures, 26.7 percent will allocate a larger portion of their holiday budget for online purchases in 2009, citing easier to compare prices, free shipping offers and avoiding crowds in the mall/traditional stores among the reasons for doing so. Almost 5.7 percent of respondents will spend less online during the holiday season because of high shipping charges (22.8 percent), because they prefer to see the products before purchasing them (12.5 percent) or because they are prefer a store experience (10.8 percent).
According to the Shop.orgs eHoliday Study, which was conducted by BIGresearch, as a result of the economic uncertainty, online retailers will change strategies related to retail marketing and promotions for the holiday season. Thus, 47.1 percent of retailers have already mentioned a greater use of social media such as Facebook and/or Twitter (as more cost-effective channels as compared to traditional advertising methods), while 34 percent will offer discounts earlier this year. Four out of five online retailers plan to offer free shipping with conditions during the holiday period, while 57.4 percent will offer free shipping without conditions.
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