Speaking of Internet shopping, according to a Visa USA post-holiday survey conducted January 5-12, a whopping 98 percent of online holiday shoppers had a satisfactory or very satisfactory online shopping experience. Furthermore, 90 percent said they plan to continue shopping online.
The Visa USA survey, conducted by NFO Research Inc., queried 1,128 adults who have access to the Internet at their home or office. Fifty-one percent of the respondents purchased a portion of their holiday gifts online and for 19 percent of these consumers, this purchase was their first online purchase. The survey was conducted as a follow-up to a pre-holiday survey released in November.
"This past holiday season set the benchmark for online shopping not just for the holidays, but for the future of e-commerce," said Joe Vause, vice president of electronic commerce for Visa USA. "Getting consumers to try shopping online isn't nearly as tough as getting them to come back, which is why we are pleased to see a strong commitment by consumers to continue shopping online."
How Was the Service?
Some of the common concerns of consumers who are reluctant to shop online include privacy and security; they worry that their credit card data will be intercepted or that the site is not a legitimate business and they will never see the goods purchased. The Visa survey put to rest some of those concerns. For example, 92 percent reported that most of their gifts ordered online arrived by the expected date, and 95 percent arrived in good condition. 62 percent of shoppers said they were very satisfied with their telephone customer service. Additionally, of those who paid for their online holiday purchases with a credit card, 55 percent felt that the financial information they were providing was very secure.
What Do Consumers Purchase Online?
Here's how the survey respondents' purchases broke down:
: 43 percent bought books
: 30 percent bought clothes
: 27 percent bought CDs
: 18 percent bought toys
The largest percentage of respondents, 33 percent, spent between $100 and $249 on their Internet purchases.
How Did the November and January Surveys Differ, if At All?
In the November 1998 survey, 29 percent of Internet shoppers said they were most likely to shop online for their children during the holiday season. In the January survey, children and spouses/partners received the most gifts. The November survey found that 86 percent of online shoppers have a specific product in mind when they shop online. In the January survey, 43 percent of online holiday shoppers went directly to the Web page of the company that makes the product they wanted.
One area in which online and traditional shopping are similar: 15 percent of the online shoppers surveyed spent more than they planned on their gifts.
