Based on the October 2003 consumer survey "Holiday 2003: Online Pushes Limits of Last Minute Shopping," the Jupiter report found that close to 40% of online users plan to do some or all of their holiday shopping online, an increase of 18% over last year.
Jupiter Research attributes these shifts in consumer attitude, and the 21% surge in holiday spending this year, to the influx of new buyers using the online channel.
Jupiter Research's Holiday 2003 Executive Survey shows that forty one percent of online retailers surveyed will offer extended cut-off dates in order to encourage last minute purchases. Just over half of the retailers surveyed by Jupiter Research will also rely on new seasonal staff to accommodate the increased demand.
According to Patti Freeman Evans, Retail Analyst at Jupiter Research, "Given the short selling season and the highest projected online holiday sales volume ever, online retailers stand to gain or lose a great deal by anticipating consumers' last minute shopping needs." Because consumers' primary concerns about buying gifts online center on shipping and delivery, retailers who fulfill orders on time, even very late in the buying season, stand to garner high loyalty points with holiday shoppers.
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