About half of U.S. online Web users view the Internet as their main source of shopping information, according to a new BURST! Media report.
For the report, BURST! surveyed 6,100 Web users
with U.S. Internet protocol addresses. About three out of four--77 percent--respondents said they were online shoppers, meaning that they either make purchases or seek out product-related information
online. Almost two-thirds of that group--63 percent--said the Web was the primary source of information for comparing products.
Taken together, the figures mean that 49 percent of online users
surveyed rely on the Web--more than other sources--for prices and specs of potential purchases.
Half of those categorized as online shoppers are actually window-shoppers, who turn to the Web more
for information than to complete a purchase. In fact, a large proportion--45 percent--of the window shoppers said they use the Internet to find brick-and-mortar retail stores, where they can buy
products in person.
What factors discourage Web users from completing purchases online? Respondents reported varied concerns, but security fears appear to be taking on more importance. Sixty
percent of respondents said they were concerned about whether their credit card information would be secure, up from 52 percent last year. Other concerns included privacy (cited by 50 percent),
shipping charges (41 percent), product quality (37 percent), and return policies (28 percent).
Other reports suggest that retailers are trying to combat at least some of those concerns. In
August, analytics company WebTrends reported that 63 percent of retailers surveyed said they planned to waive shipping charges for online orders.