AOL Shopping Survey Finds High Gas Prices Provoke More Online Holiday Shopping.DULLES, Va. -- America Online See AOL. , Inc.
Online Spending Will Increase Despite Shrinking Holiday Budgets;
Consumers Cite High Gas Prices as Reason for Doing More
Shopping Online
Tampa, San Diego, and Philadelphia Top List of Most Wired Shopping
Cities in AOL's 2005 "Online Shopping Cities" Survey
Keep the car in park and log onto the Web. That's what online shoppers are thinking this holiday season, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. AOL's 2005 "Online Shopping Cities" survey, which shows that Tampa, San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. and Philadelphia top the list of the Most Wired Shopping Cities in the US this year for the first time. Pressed by an unstable economy and high energy costs, online shoppers' overall holiday budgets will take a hit of more than 7% this year, falling to $526 from $565 last year. Yet the survey of 6,239 consumers who research and/or make purchases online found that 52% plan to do even more buying online this year. Respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. plan to spend nearly half of their budgets ($254) on Internet purchases, with Books, Apparel and Music/Videos as the most popular gift categories. Of the respondents who said they are planning to do more shopping online this season, 49% said it's because "high gas prices make it too expensive to drive around to different retail locations." "Even though gas prices have been declining since their peak in early September, consumers are still feeling the emotional and financial pinch pinch, n a small amount of chewing tobacco (snuff) an individual takes to use the substance for its desired effect. A “pinch” is called a quid in Britain. , and they clearly see shopping online as a great way to conserve cash they spend on loved ones loved ones npl → seres mpl queridos loved ones npl → proches mpl et amis chers loved ones love npl this holiday season," commented Bob Hayes Robert Lee ("Bullet Bob") Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002) was an American track and field athlete and American football player. He was a two-sport athlete in college where he excelled in both track and college football at Florida A&M University. , Vice President and General Manager of E-Commerce, America Online. "And of course, shoppers continue to benefit from the convenience and flexibility always associated with buying over the Internet." In addition to high gas prices, survey respondents who said they will be doing even more shopping online this year, cited the ability to: --shop all hours of the day and night (81%) --save time (76%) --avoid crowds (75%) --research products (54%) --comparison shop (52%) Fifty-percent also said they are inspired by the free shipping that more online retailers will be offering this year. When it comes to how much money online shoppers will be spending this holiday season overall, 70% said their budgets will be influenced by factors such as the unstable economy, high gas and energy prices, the job market, as well as world events like hurricane Katrina  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. and the war on Iraq.
Tampa, San Diego and Philadelphia Emerge as Top Online Shopping
Cities; San Francisco Drops Off Top 10 List for First Time
The annual AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. "Online Shopping Cities" survey found that both Tampa (number 1) and San Diego (number 2) rose to the top of the 2005 list of online shoppers because of big online spending throughout the year, and Philadelphia moved up 25 spots to the number 3 ranking as a result of frequent online researching throughout the year. The rankings, comparing regional online shopping patterns in the top 30 markets, were based on how often respondents research online and buy online, and how much they report spending online in a given month. Online shoppers in the top three cities The Three Cities is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Cospicua, Vittoriosa, and Senglea on the Island of Malta, which are enclosed by the massive line of fortification created by the Knights of St John, the Cottonera Lines. reported spending an average of $236 per month on online purchases. That's 43% higher than online shoppers spend in the bottom three cities - Indianapolis, Orlando, Charlotte ($165). Other regional findings: --San Francisco dropped considerably in the rankings, down to number 22 and off the top 5 list for the first time in the survey's four-year history. --Chicago and Pittsburgh made the top 10 list for the first time this year, both showing marked increases in the amount of money online shoppers spend per month on the Internet. "This year's survey shows how truly mainstream online shopping has become," added Hayes. "When we conducted our first Online Shopping Cities survey in 2001, we were a little surprised to find that traditional shopping meccas like San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of topped the list. Over the years, we've seen more and more mid-level cities breaking into the top ten, which goes to show that online shopping is no longer a novelty Novelty is the quality of being new. Although it may be said to have an objective dimension (e.g. a new style of art coming into being, such as abstract art or impressionism) it essentially exists in the subjective perceptions of individuals. , it has become a part of everyday shopping behavior no matter where you live." The Top "Online Shopping Cities" based on a composite ranking of how often respondents research and purchase online, and how much they spend online per month:
2005 Ranking and City 2004 Ranking
------------------------------------------------ --------------------
1. Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota 23
2. San Diego 3
3. Philadelphia 28
4. Houston 17
5. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale 9
6. Washington, DC 7
7. New York 10
8. Dallas/Ft. Worth 5
9. Chicago 13
10. Pittsburgh 27
* Note to Editors: City-specific statistics are also available for
researching, purchasing and spending online, as well as general
online shopping behavior.
Details of the AOL Fourth Annual "Online Shopping Cities" Survey: We're in the age of sophisticated online shoppers, who are also willing to take on more complex shopping tasks. --75% have been shopping online for 3 years or more; 11% for 10 years or more. --65% have comparison shopped to find the best prices. --63% have tracked packages online. --54% have used promotional codes or coupons when making a purchase online. --One-third (33%) have consulted online reviews of products and retailers before purchasing, and one-fifth (20%) have written their own reviews online. --One-third (34%) shop for luxury or big-tickets items online. --On average, shoppers are willing to spend about $1,060 on a single item they purchase online. --For the first time, books (45%) and clothing (44%) will overtake o·ver·take tr.v. o·ver·took , o·ver·tak·en , o·ver·tak·ing, o·ver·takes 1. a. To catch up with; draw even or level with. b. To pass after catching up with. 2. music/videos (42%) as the most popular holiday gifts purchased online this year. The online shopping experience has improved and it better meets the needs of shoppers. --52% of online shoppers plan do to even more shopping on the Internet this year because there are no closing hours (81%), there are less crowds (75%), and it's easier to research items (54%) and comparison shop (52%). --The overwhelming majority (86%) say the online shopping experience has improved over the past year. Of those, 66% cite the ability to research products/services across many different sites/stores, and 48% cite more brand and product selection online. --91% say the free shipping offers available online are very or somewhat important to them. The ability to easily research products and services online is a more important factor this holiday season. --Online shoppers say nearly half (46%) of their holiday purchases (online and offline) will be influenced by research they do online. --60% say that during the holiday season, the ability to research online is more valuable than making purchases online. --Most (31%) describe themselves as researchers and comparison shoppers. --While 85% say they make less impulse purchases An impulse purchase is an unplanned or otherwise spontaneous purchase. One who tends to make such purchases is referred to as an impulse buyer. Marketers and retailers tend to exploit these impulses which are tied to the basic need for instant gratification. when they shop online, nearly 40% still admit they are more of an impulse impulse, in mechanics: see momentum. Impulse (mechanics) The integral of a force over an interval of time. For a force F , the impulse J over the interval from t0 to t1 buyer during the holiday season vs. the rest of the year. Methodology: This national survey was conducted from October 19 - October 31, 2005 through Digital Marketing Services, Inc. (DMS (1) (Document Management System) See document management. (2) (Defense Messaging System) An X.500-compliant messaging system developed by the U.S. Dept. of Defense. ). A total of 6,239 Web users (approximately 200 from each of the top 30 DMAs) were interviewed, including both online browsers/purchasers and non-browsers/purchasers. The screening qualifications for this study were males and females aged 18 and above who research/browse or purchase products or services online at least once a month. The ranking for the top wired shopping cities was based on online browsers/purchasers and non-browsers/purchasers while all other survey questions were asked of only those who browse/purchase online. AOL(R) Shopping: AOL Shopping (http://www.aol.com/shopping or AOL Keyword: Shopping) is a premier shopping destination on the AOL(R) service and the AOL.com(R) website that offers shoppers an intuitive and comprehensive experience that makes online shopping easy. By working hand-in-hand with leading retail brands and harnessing the best available technology, AOL Shopping helps online shoppers make good purchase decisions quickly and easily. It's built around the way consumers shop online today - with distinct offerings for searchers, browsers and impulse buyers. About America Online, Inc. America Online, Inc. and its subsidiaries operate a leading network of Web brands and the largest Internet access See how to access the Internet. subscription service in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Brands include the AOL(R) service, the AOL.com(R) website, and the AIM(R), MapQuest(R), Moviefone(R), Netscape(R), CompuServe(R) and ICQ ("I Seek You") A conferencing program for the Internet from Mirabilis, Tel Aviv, Israel (www.icq.com). It provides interactive chat, e-mail and file transfer and can alert you when someone on your predefined list has also come online. (R) services. America Online offers a range of digital services including the TotalTalk(R) voice service. The company also has operations in Canada and Europe. America Online, Inc. is based in Dulles, Virginia Dulles, Virginia is an unincorporated census-designated place located in Loudoun County, Virginia, part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. The headquarters of AOL, Orbital Sciences Corporation and ODIN technologies and the former headquarters of MCI Inc. are located in Dulles. , and is a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Time Warner Inc. |
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