E-commerce software and solutions provider MarketLive commissioned the e-tailing Group to conduct the survey. A total of 1,136 consumers completed an online questionnaire last month split evenly between males and females; 61 percent of survey respondents shop at least several times per month.
Lauren Freedman, president of consultancy the e-tailing Group, said the online sales projection for the holiday season (from eMarketer) marks the fourth consecutive year that online holiday sales (defined as sales in November and December) will post annual growth in the mid-to-high teens, after sinking 8.2 percent during the recession in 2008.
According to eMarketer's online holiday sales forecast, consumers will turn to the internet to stay within their budgets, locate hard-to-find gifts and avoid crowded stores. Online holiday sales will account for nearly a quarter (24.3 percent) of the $224.2bn in U.S. retail e-commerce sales forecast for all of 2012.
