DoubleClick's Holiday Shopping Study Reveals Consumers are Leveraging Multiple Channels to Make Purchasing Decisions Across Many Categories.

Business, Technology, Advertising & Media Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 2002

While Holiday Spending Decreased in 2001, Consumers

Say Events of September 11th Were Not a Factor

DoubleClick Inc. (NASDAQ: DCLK), the leading digital marketing solutions company, today unveiled the results of its Holiday Shopping study, which reveals that consumers are leveraging multiple channels to make purchasing decisions across many categories.

In addition, the study demonstrates that while holiday spending decreased in 2001, consumers state that the events of September 11th were not a factor.

Multi-channel shoppers, consumers who browse or purchase through more than one channel (retail store, catalog, Internet), reported using all three channels in symbiosis for browsing and purchasing over the holiday season. Consumers cited price, selection and convenience of catalogs, the speed and the 24-hour availability of the Internet, and the ability to see and sample products at retail stores, as reasons for purchasing through respective channels. However, in general, the retail channel still dominated holiday purchasing for the multi-channel consumer.

Multi-channel Shoppers Have Different Browsing and Purchasing Habits

-- 66% of multi-channel shoppers browse in one channel but

purchase in another

In general, more women tend to be channel switchers than men

(a consumer who browses in one channel and purchases in

another). 46% of women and 43% of men browsed on the

Internet and purchased at retail stores. Whereas, 37% of

women and 28% of men browsed through catalogs and

purchased at retail stores.

-- Consumers have catalogs in hand when buying online

Half of those that browsed in a catalog and purchased

online (53% of women and 38% of men) used a product

code from the catalog.

-- Music, movies & books were purchased online, while larger

ticket items were browsed online

In general, online spending grew as 47% of consumers spent

more on the Internet this holiday season. Consumers

preferred to purchase online for products such as music,

movies and books (53%) as well as toys/games (31%).

However, when it came to larger ticket items, 45% of

consumers preferred to browse on the Internet for home

electronics and computer software/hardware (50%) in

particular.

"Results from this data demonstrate the need for marketers to have tools in place in order to better measure how one channel is driving sales to another channel," said David Rosenblatt, President, DoubleClick. "Consumers will continue to browse in one channel and purchase in another, reflecting their goal to find the best selection, service and pricing. Tracking these results by channel represents an enormous opportunity for marketers if they align their promotional dollars with this trend."

Multi-Channel Shoppers Prove to be More Valuable Customers

Consumers that either browsed or purchased in all three transaction channels spent $995 on holiday shopping, compared with consumers who browsed or purchased in two channels ($894) and consumers who only used one channel ($591).

-- Retail stores continue to be the most popular channel for

purchasing among multi-channel shoppers

Out of the average $894 spent by multi-channel consumers, $572

or 64% was spent in retail stores, $233 or $26% was spent

on the Internet, and $89 or 10% was spent through

catalogs.

-- Majority of shoppers used multiple channels to carry out their

holiday purchases

54% purchased through both retail stores and on the Internet,

and 22% made purchases through all three channels.

Clothing and Electronic Purchases Were the Big Winners

For 75% of consumers, clothing and accessories remained the highest interest area for shopping over the holidays, followed closely by movies, music and books (71%). However, it is the home electronics category that saw the highest spending levels with shoppers spending an average of $256, followed closely by the home decor/gifts category with an average spend of $225.

Economic Reasons Caused Consumers to Spend Less, No Fears from September 11th

Results from the study indicate that holiday spending decreased slightly by less than 1% from last year. 84% of consumers cited economic reasons for reduced spending. 39% of those who increased their spending did so due to special offers and discount incentives. The data also reveals that 86% of consumers stated that the events of September 11th did not affect their holiday shopping habits. In fact, only 6% of consumers were wary of having merchandise delivered by postal mail, and only 5% were concerned about visiting a mall or retail store.

Beyond Interactive, DoubleClick's digital marketing agency, directed survey design and data analysis. The study was fielded by Greenfield Online between January 4-9, 2002. It is based upon 1,358 respondents who were interviewed online regarding their holiday shopping. Respondents averaged approximately 40 years in age.

For more information on the study, please visit www.doubleclick.net for a copy of the executive summary.

About DoubleClick

DoubleClick is building the infrastructure that makes marketing work in the digital world. Combining media, data, research and technological expertise, DoubleClick allows marketers to deliver the right message, to the right person, at the right time, while helping Web publishers maximize their revenue and build their business online. DoubleClick Inc. has global headquarters in New York City and maintains 35 offices around the world.