Los Angeles – In a
survey of online shoppers, 72 percent said they plan to spend the same amount
of money or more in 2012 as in 2011, according PriceGrabber, and more than half
intend to spend more on electronics products.
Fifty-one percent of
respondents plan to spend the same as last year and 21 percent plan to spend
more in 2012 than last year, while 28 percent plan to spend less.
When consumers were
asked to select all of the items and activities on which they plan to spend
more in 2012, more than half said consumer electronics and clothing, followed
closely by travel and vacations, household supplies and dining out. Twenty-nine
percent said they will spend more on furniture, books or DVDs, followed by
jewelry, toys, events, sporting goods and fitness memberships.
When those who plan to
spend more were asked to select all of the reasons why, 36 percent cited
confidence in the economy, and another 36 percent said that they expect
retailers to offer better discounts this year. Thirty percent indicated that
they are earning more money in 2012, 6 percent said that they are tired of
being frugal, 5 percent cited a credit limit increase, and another 5 percent
have found employment in the past year.
When the respondents who
plan to spend less this year were asked to select all of the reasons why, 40
percent cited increases in prices such as gas, food and necessities; 34 percent
said lack of confidence in the economy. Twenty-nine percent indicated they were
making less money this year, and 16 percent said they overspent during the 2011
holiday season.
“Our data shows that
shoppers plan to remain optimistically cautious with their spending again this
year and expect retailers to continue to offer deals and incentives on
products,” said Graham Jones, general manager of PriceGrabber. “We expect
retailers will continue to roll out a number of tactics, such as free shipping,
larger discounts and online-only promotions to help win the consumer dollar
this year, while implementing strategies that will span brick-and-mortar,
online and mobile shopping platforms to entice consumers to shop.”
Forty-six percent of
survey respondents indicated that they plan to use daily deal sites, such as
Groupon, Living Social or PriceGrabber’s local deals category, more often in
2012 than in 2011. When consumers who plan to use these sites more frequently
were asked to select all of the categories they will search the most, 53
percent said food and dining, 46 percent said shopping, 42 percent said
entertainment and events, and 34 percent said family and kids.
When asked how they plan
to shop in 2012, 45 percent of PriceGrabber survey respondents said they will
combine online, brick-and-mortar and mobile shopping. Forty-two percent said
they will shop mostly online, 12 percent will shop mostly in brick-and-mortar
stores, and 1 percent will shop primarily from a mobile device. According to
the survey, the average shopper will make 53 percent of his or her overall
purchases online, 42 percent from brick-and-mortar stores and 5 percent from a
mobile phone.
Conducted from Jan. 26
to Feb. 13, the survey includes responses from 933 U.S. online shopping
consumers.
