There is a great report that was released today by ChannelAdvisor and it is a free White Paper based on 2010 Consumer Shopping Habits survey results. This is excellent research to get you headed down the right path for Christmas. The while paper can be downloaded right here and below is the press release that was sent out so you can fully understand what it encompasses. In a short summation, holiday shoppers for the 2010 season are looking for online retailers they can trust.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. - (Business Wire) ChannelAdvisor, a solution provider that enables online retailers to improve efficiency and increase revenue, announced today the results of its 2010 Consumer Shopping Habits Survey. In its third consecutive year, the survey reflects the rapidly evolving changes of the e-commerce industry. Compiled into a white paper, the Consumer Shopping Habits Survey provides retailers detailed information to guide their e-commerce strategy for the 2010 holiday shopping season.

“We can estimate shopping habits or ask friends and family, but at the end of the day, estimates are just that—guesswork,” said Scot Wingo, CEO of ChannelAdvisor. “We've implemented the consumer shopping survey as a way to gather market intelligence to help our customers prioritize their e-commerce strategy based upon when, where and how consumers are shopping online.”

A few key findings include:

• 58 percent of those surveyed plan to purchase their gifts online this year, besting brick-and-mortar stores by nearly 20 points.
• The economy doesn't seem to be as big of a factor as some may believe for the consumers we surveyed: 41 percent said that their shopping habits were unaffected by the state of the economy, and 43 percent think the economy is bouncing back.
• When browsing for a gift idea, 59 percent of those surveyed started on search engines, followed by marketplaces at 28 percent. Only 10 percent started directly at a retailer's webstore.
• Consumers are not as retail-name conscious as one may expect: 67 percent said they would purchase an identical product from an unknown store if the store offered a better value.
• When asked what promotion enticed shoppers to purchase, “best price” was most popular, followed closely by “free shipping,” and then “trusted seller status.”
• Reviews are exceedingly important as 92 percent of consumers said they read product reviews. Of that 92 percent, 46 percent were influenced to purchase based upon the reviews, and 43 percent were deterred from purchasing. The other 3 percent said their decision was unaffected by the reviews.
• When asked what makes a webstore trustworthy, consumers overwhelmingly listed the following three answers, in ranking order: security verification, reviews and webstore aesthetic.

“Every year we look forward to the results of ChannelAdvisor's Consumer Shopping Habits Survey,” said Neal Davidson, co-founder of SellNSend, an online retailer of camera equipment that uses ChannelAdvisor's Marketplaces, Paid Search, Comparison Shopping and Webstore solutions. “We count on the survey to help us prioritize our e-commerce strategy so we can ensure that we're aligned with consumer shopping behavior.”

ChannelAdvisor surveyed hundreds of consumers across the country for the Consumer Shopping Habits Survey to learn online shopping habits, thoughts on the economy, recognition of and comfort with new technology and much more. However, comparing the changes over the years has yielded interesting results as well. For example, when asked how much they spent online per month, consumers selecting more than $76 (the highest monetary option given) increased by 27 percent from 2009 to 2010.

The main takeaway from the survey that has stayed constant over the years: a multichannel approach is still the best way to reach consumers when and where they are shopping online. Complete survey results are available in the free white paper entitled, “Through the Eyes of the Consumer,” which can be downloaded here: www.channeladvisor.com/consumersurvey.

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