Shoppers Increasingly Pre-Research Retail Purchases Online
Forty-three percent more shoppers used retailers’ web sites to look at items to buy in stores during the 2004 holiday season compared to last year, according to CrossMedia Services Inc.
Data from 14 CrossMedia Services retail customers, including Target, Sears, Home Depot, Office Depot and Best Buy, show 14.7 million shoppers looked online for specials being promoted at stores during the period from the Saturday before Thanksgiving through Dec. 24, compared to 10.3 million during nearly the same time period in 2003.
The current year contained two more days, with the shopping season stretching from Nov. 20 to Dec. 24 (35 days), compared with 33 days between Nov. 22 and Dec. 24 in 2003.
During 2004, Thanksgiving Day led the period for visits, with consumers logging nearly 1.3 million Internet views.
