Study Finds Online Shoppers To Spend Over 30% Online

Compete has shared some findings from a new study on consumer holiday shopping behavior. According to the firm, active online buyers (consumers who intend to spend over 30% of their holiday budgets online) have bigger budgets than other shoppers. Furthermore, they are more likely to spend that money on Black Friday.

The study shows that “active online buyers” plan to spend twice as much ($912 on average) throughout the holiday season as other consumers. 37 percent of the online buyers also say they’ll shop on Black Friday, compared with 33 percent of other consumers.

“Many retailers are bracing for lower online sales, but our research shows that not all shoppers are created equal,” said Debra Miller, associate, Retail and Consumers Products at Compete. “While most consumers say they’ll spend less this year, online shoppers seem to have deeper pockets and they’ll be looking for deals starting on Black Friday. Smart retailers should take a much closer look at online shopping segments relevant to them to capture a larger share of wallet among online consumers.”

Other findings from Compete include:

– 86 percent of shoppers have completed less than half of their total holiday shopping; 41 percent have not yet begun.

– 90 percent of consumers will spend at least some portion of their holiday budget online this year, up from 84 percent in 2008.

– 42 percent of consumers reported that they are likely or extremely likely to select an “in store pick up” option if available for holiday purchases.

– 44 percent of consumers plan to spend less this holiday season compared to last year, while only 12 percent of shoppers anticipate spending more.

The report was compiled from a survey of over 2,900 consumers this month. What are your holiday spending plans? Are you an “active online buyer?”