Google Study Reveals Internet is Top Choice Among Shoppers this Holiday Season

The internet will be a top resource for many shoppers this holiday season,  smartphones will be the device of choice, online marketing will influence holiday shopping, and cross-screen shopping will be a big deal, according to a recent study conducted by Google.
This holiday season,  89% of shoppers plan to use the internet for holiday shopping.  Seventy-nine percent of  shoppers consider the internet the most useful resource for holiday shopping.
Three in four of shoppers say online research will help them decide which gifts and brands they’ll buy this holidays season. Online research will influence brands bought (76%),  retailers shopped (76%)  and type of gift (77%).
According to Google 2013 Holiday Shopping Intentions study,  online ads will influence holiday shoppers more than television.  Display ads, email offers and search ads as a whole influence more than television.  Six in 10 shoppers will pay attention to search ads and one in three will pay attention to video ads.
What are shoppers using this holiday season to help them shop online?  The study revealed more shoppers will use  a smartphone to help with their online shopping.  In fact, 41% of all adult shoppers will use a smartphone for their holiday shopping which is seeing a 17% increase from last year.
Seventy-six percent of smartphone owners will use their smartphones for holiday shopping, according to the study.  One in four smartphone owners plan to make a holiday purchase on their smartphone, which is up 21% from last year.
Google expects mobile shopping to increase on traditional in-store shopping days – weekends,  especially the one between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The study shows that 53% of smartphone shoppers will use their device to help with ecommerce shopping,  an increase from 46% last year and 53% of shoppers will use their smartphone while in the store.
This holiday shopping the Google study revealed that cross-screen shopping will be huge.  Eighty percent of shoppers will use more than one device at once while holiday shopping and 84% will start gift shopping on one device and finish on another.
This year mobile holiday shopping is being driven by millennials, according to the study.  Eighty-eight percent of millennial smartphone owners will use their devices for holiday shopping, a jump from 67% last year.  Thirty-one percent of millennial smartphone owners plan to make a holiday purchase on their smartphone, a jump from 17% of adults last year.
Shopping for the holiday season has begun early this year, according to the study.  Shopping for the holiday season, the study revealed began before Halloween.  Half of shoppers will research before Thanksgiving weekend and 60% will purchase that weekend.
It’s all about the bargains this year , 81% of shoppers will rely on discounts and 76% will take advantage of free shipping and 60% of shoppers will act on purchase incentives.

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