Poll: Americans Plan to Spend More Online
Dec. 11 -- About one in four Americans say they'll be buying holiday gifts online this year, up only modestly since 1999 — but the amount of money they plan to spend has nearly doubled.
In a new ABCNEWS poll, 24 percent say they'll use the Internet to buy holiday gifts, up just six points in the last three years — and no more than the number who say they shopped online last year. But online shoppers plan to spend $646 on average, compared to an inflation-adjusted $331 that people reported spending online in the 1999 holidays.
While online spending plans have surged, the public's overall holiday spending plans have fallen in the same period. An ABCNEWS poll last month found Americans planning to spend an average of $830 on holiday gifts overall, down from a record $946 in 1999.
‘I Can Do It Naked’
What's drawing consumers to the Internet? The vast majority of online shoppers, 73 percent, cite its convenience. ("I can do it naked," said one respondent.) A mere 7 percent say it's the prices, while 18 percent say it's a combination of both.
Women, in particular, cite the convenience of shopping online as its sole main attraction — 79 percent say so, compared to 65 percent of men.
While men and women say they'll use the Internet to buy gifts in equal numbers, men are planning to spend nearly four times as much as women are — $1,050 compared to $271.
That appears to be an Internet phenomenon; by contrast, last month's poll on overall holiday spending plans did not find a significant difference between the sexes. Product choice may play a role: Men are more apt than women to buy electronics (expensive); women, more apt to buy toys and books (less so).
Income, Internet Access Are Factors
Online shopping peaks among higher-income and better-educated Americans. Thirty-nine percent of those in households earning $50,000 or more plan to shop on the Internet for gifts, compared to 15 percent in households earning less than that. Similarly, 35 percent of those who've been to college say they'll buy gifts online; it's just 13 percent among less-educated people.
