BURST! Study Finds that Higher Income Households
Plan to Spend More Online for Christmas Gifts

One-Third with Household Income of $75,000+
Expect to Purchase over Half Their Holiday Gifts Online

BURST! Media, an Internet ad services company, in a survey on web shopping habits, has found that as household income increases so does the likelihood of making holiday purchases online. In fact, the survey finds nearly one-third (30.3%) of respondents with household income of $75,000 or more, and 27.3% of respondents with income of $75,000-$99,999 expect to purchase over half their holiday gifts online.

BURST! recently surveyed 4,700 web users 18 years and older, on how they will use the Internet during the approaching holiday shopping season.

“The Internet has brought about a substantial shift not only in where consumers purchase products, but also where they ‘window shop’ and gather information about different brands,” says Chuck Moran, BURST! Media’s Market Research Manager.  “In a concentrated shopping period, like the December holiday season, this impact is magnified and can't be ignored by marketers looking for a slice of consumers' holiday spending. Our research shows that consumers will increasingly turn to the convenience of the Internet - and ‘window shop’ from the comfort of their homes. And they will also be buying online. Last year consumers spent over $18 billion on direct Internet gift purchases. Our outlook for this coming holiday season is for even more purchases to be made online - particularly among high income segments.”

Nine out of Ten Expect to Use the Internet for Holiday Shopping

Overall, nine out of ten (93.6%) respondents say they expect to use the Internet to research and/or purchase gifts during the upcoming December holiday season.  Of respondents who will use the Internet to assist in holiday shopping, 40.7% say they will use the Internet more than they did last year, half (50.2%) say they will use the Internet about the “same amount”, and 9.1% say they will use it less.

Nearly Three-Quarters Say They Will Purchase Gifts Online

Three out of four (77.0%) say they expect to make some of their holiday purchases online during the upcoming December holiday season.  Among respondents who expect to make holiday gift purchases online, the majority (57.0%) anticipates making 25% or less of their total holiday purchases on the Internet.  One-fifth (21.4%) of respondents say they will purchase more than 50% of their holiday gifts online – 2.2% say they will purchase all their holiday gifts online.

Households with High Incomes Utilize the Internet for Information

Like BURST’s past studies, the current study finds nearly all income segments relying on the Internet for product and service information. Among respondents earning $75,000 or more, nearly two out of three say the Internet is their primary source for information on products and services they are planning to purchase; an increase from the November 2003 and June 2002 BURST studies’ findings. 

Majority Turn to the Internet for Product and Service Information

The study finds that more than half (55.6%) of respondents say the Internet is their primary source of information when evaluating and comparing products. Other media often cited as a primary information source includes newspapers and magazines (13.0%), as well as television (7.0%).   The Internet’s importance as an information source is significantly greater among men than women - with nearly one-third (63.0%) of men saying the Internet is their primary information source versus less than half (47.9%) of women. 

Finding Information Online Doesn’t Always Mean Purchasing Online

BURST! asked respondents what particular actions do they take on the Internet.  Of those who say the Internet is their primary information source 42.6% say they actually make their purchase online.   Two-thirds (66.8%) say they use the Internet to research and compare the features of different brands, and 54.7% use the Internet to compare different retailers and find the best price, and 28.1% say they use the Internet to find the closest store location where they can make a purchase.

Security of Credit Card Information and Privacy Greatest Concerns

Half (52.2%) of respondents say that security of credit card information is their greatest concern when making an online purchase.   Interestingly, this finding is significantly less than an October 2002 BURST study in which three out of five (61.3%) respondents saying credit card information security was a great concern when making an online purchase. Women are slightly more concerned than men with the security of credit card information when making an online purchase – 55.3% versus 49.1%.

Web users are also concerned with the privacy of personal information (40.9%), shipping costs (32.1%), product quality (26.8%), site’s return policy (24.1%), product availability (18.6%), and shipping issues/delays (17.5%).

BURST! Media is an Internet ad services and online ad sales rep company that delivers more than 2.4 billion advertising impressions for over 2,000 web publishers every month, BURST! reaches 1 in 4 people online and is the 20th largest online media property in terms of unique visitors and reach* making it one of the largest online ad companies in the U.S. By providing thousands of web publishers with tools and expertise from ad sales to email newsletter tools and community forums for learning, BURST! helps publishers generate sustainable revenue. The company, founded in 1995 and based near Boston, also markets AdDesktop, a competitively-priced, ASP ad management solution that helps web publishers securely target, serve, track and report the performance of online advertising campaigns.

 *(according to comScore Media Metrix)