Consumers Expected to Open Their Wallets for the 2006 Holiday Season, According to Prospectiv Survey.

68 Percent of Consumers Will Spend More or the Same in 2006 Compared to 2005, 19 Percent Expected to Make More Online Purchases

WOBURN, Mass. -- The 2006 holiday shopping season looks promising for retailers according a recent Prospectiv Consumer Preference Index (CPI) survey. Sixty-eight percent of consumers surveyed expect to spend more or the same in 2006 when compared to 2005. Prospectiv (http://www.prospectiv.com), a provider of online customer acquisition solutions to leading consumer brands, is the owner and operator of the online properties Eversave.com, Healthier.com, and TheKnowledgeStop.com.

Opportunities for online purchases and promotions are also looking favorable this year. In fact, 19 percent surveyed expect to make more online purchases in 2006. Similar to the findings of Prospectiv's 2005 CPI poll on holiday shopping, the majority of consumers (73 percent) in 2006 will rely on the Internet to research and compare prices and varieties of holiday products and gifts (up from 71 percent in 2005).

Consumer Purchasing Trends

Prospectiv's 2006 CPI on holiday shopping also revealed that most consumers will do a portion of their gift buying online in addition to planning in-store purchases. Ten percent of consumers polled expect to make the majority of their purchases online in 2006 (60 percent or more of all holiday purchases), while 14 percent will complete half of their shopping online. Forty percent of consumers plan to make only a few online purchases this year (20 percent or less of all holiday purchases).

Top reasons consumers conduct holiday shopping online include convenience (47 percent) and avoiding crowds (18 percent), with better deals coming in third (15 percent). What would entice shoppers to make even more purchases via the Internet? Fifty-six percent of consumers said free shipping would be the top motivator to persuade them to spend more of their holiday dollars online.

In addition, Prospectiv's CPI revealed that coupons, online offers and special discounts targeted to individual consumer preferences would motivate more spending - both online (14 percent) and in-store (16 percent). For in-store purchases, discount stores (45 percent), shopping malls (22 percent) and department stores (20 percent) are the top holiday shopping venues for consumers.

Holiday Marketing Insights

The survey results also give marketers a good idea of timing for their coupons and special offers. The majority of consumers surveyed (62 percent) said that they conduct the bulk of their holiday shopping in December, while 47 percent begin shopping two-to-three months before the Christmas holiday. Marketers attempting to drive holiday online sales should note that 44 percent of consumers surveyed said that they begin their online shopping sooner than in-store shopping.

"Our second annual CPI poll on consumer holiday spending shows the growing power and influence the Internet has on consumer purchasing trends," said Jere Doyle, president and CEO of Prospectiv. "Marketers should take note of the increasing number of consumers researching gifts and products online and searching for special offers, discounts and coupons. Making targeted online offers an important part of the marketing mix can help leading consumer brands not only drive sales, but also build closer, long-term relationships with individual consumers."

What will consumers spend most of their hard-earned holiday dollars on this year? Thirty-eight percent of consumer surveyed will spend on clothes in 2006, followed by toys (22 percent) and electronics (16 percent).

Prospectiv conducted the 2006 Consumer Holiday Shopping survey online, gathering responses from more than 1000 consumers across the United States. The survey was conducted from October 23 to October 26 2006.

About Prospectiv's Consumer Preference Index (CPI):

Millions of active, self-profiled consumers have registered at Prospectiv's vertically-targeted online properties - Eversave.com (connects consumers with quality offers from leading brands), TheKnowledgeStop.com (premier resource for online and campus-based education and degree programs), and Healthier.com (website offering consumers information, promotions and products to achieve a healthier lifestyle) - enabling Prospectiv to compile insightful survey data for advertisers and marketers. Prospectiv's 20-point data authentication, cleansing and validation process ensures the database of self-profiled consumers is current, active, and accurate in order to deliver the highest quality data to clients.

About Prospectiv:

Prospectiv provides industry-leading customer acquisition, email marketing and data analytics solutions to leading consumer brand marketers. The company's solutions enable the world's best brands to find and build profitable relationships with the right customers through expert media buying, broad media reach, proprietary technology, and comprehensive analytics. Millions of active, self-profiled consumers have registered at Prospectiv's vertically-targeted online properties - Eversave.com, TheKnowledgeStop.com and Healthier.com. Prospectiv generates more than 50 million pre-qualified responses per year on a pay-for-results basis for clients, including many Fortune 1000 companies such as Procter and Gamble, Wal-Mart, Pfizer, Dell, Nestle and Schering-Plough. Founded in 1999, Prospectiv is privately-held and is based in Woburn, Ma. Please visit http://www.prospectiv.com for more information.