A new survey conducted by AC Nielsen for eBay Inc., San Jose, CA, claimed 84 percent of Americans said they will buy at least one holiday gift online, up 10 percentage points from last year.
Consumers who buy online are more likely to purchase multiple gifts on the Internet, the survey found. Thirty-seven percent of the respondents plan to buy at least one-fifth of their gifts via the Internet this holiday season versus 30 percent in 2003.
Fifty-six percent of respondents will spend the same amount on holiday gifts this year as they did in 2003. Only 17 percent will spend more, while 27 percent will spend less.
Several reasons were cited for shopping online: saving time (78 percent), better prices (51 percent), more selection (43 percent), easier shipping (40 percent) and the ability to find a more personalized gift (28 percent).
