Poll: Americans Plan to Spend More Online
Dec. 11, 2002 -- 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.
Age is also a factor: While 29 percent of those age 54 and younger say they'll shop online, just 12 percent of people age 55 and older plan to do so. Among those age 65 and older, it's just 7 percent.
Naturally, access to the Internet is a strong factor in online shopping, and older, lower-income and less-educated Americans are less likely to have Internet access.
Two-thirds of Americans report having access to the Internet, either at home only (39 percent), at work only (5 percent) or both (22 percent). Highest-access groups include those who've been to college (81 percent), people age 35-44 (79 percent) and whites (70 percent). Lower-access groups include nonwhites (54 percent have Internet access), people who haven't finished high school (43 percent), and those age 65 and older (35 percent).
Most Common Purchases: Clothes and Toys
Clothes and toys top the list of items being bought online. Electronics, books and CDs or DVDs (and VHS tapes) round out the top five. But there are big differences between the sexes: Women are more apt than men to buy toys and books online, while men are more apt than women to buy electronics.
Interestingly, the sexes are equally apt to buy clothes online — a place where convenience might be especially appealing to men, many of whom are immune to the joys of traipsing through a department store when there's a perfectly good football game on television.
Methodology
This ABCNEWS survey was conducted by telephone Dec. 4-8 among a random national sample of 1,022 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation were done by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, Pa.
Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our Poll Vault.