As the holiday shopping season approaches, a BURST! Media survey reveals that three-quarters (76.6%) of respondents are online shoppers. Significantly, three out of five (62.8%) online shoppers say the Internet is their primary source of information when evaluating and comparing products. Other media cited as a primary information source includes newspapers and magazines (10.6%), brochures and pamphlets (6.3%), and television (5.7%). The BURST! findings are based on a survey of over 6,100 web users 18 years and older; a survey that also sought insight into the Internet’s role in the upcoming holiday shopping season.

As a respondent’s reported household income increases, so does the likelihood that the Internet is the primary comparison-shopping tool. In fact, the percentage of respondents who say the Internet is their primary tool for comparison-shopping increases from 59.0% with those reporting household income of less than $35,000, to 70.6% with households reporting income of $75,000 or more.

Online shopping doesn’t always mean users purchase online. The BURST! study reveals that among those who shop online, one-half (49.7%) say they make purchases online, and 50.3% “window-shop” only. The most popular shopping activities among window-shoppers are; comparing different retailers to find the best price (69.3%), researching and comparing the features of different brands (69.2%), and finding the closest store location where they can make a purchase (45.0%). Interestingly, female window-shoppers are significantly more likely than male window-shoppers to say they use the Internet to find store locations where they can make a purchase (50.3% v. 39.9%).

Among online shoppers, four out of five (83.2%) say they expect to use the Internet to research and/or purchase gifts during the upcoming December holiday season and 44.3% of those say they will use the Internet more than they did last year. Half (50.0%) say they will use the Internet about the “same amount”, and 5.7% say they will use it less.

Finally, security of credit card information and privacy are users’ greatest concerns when online shopping. Seven out of ten (60.3%) respondents say that security of credit card information is their greatest concern when making an online purchase; a level of concern up from a 2004 reading of 52.2%. Web users are also concerned with the privacy of personal information (50.3%), shipping costs (41.4%), product quality (36.8%), site’s return policy (28.2%), shipping issues/delays (27.3%), and product availability (20.1%).

“As our data shows, the Internet reaches a great many people who are poised to make buying decisions,” says Jarvis Coffin BURST! President and CEO. “The trick for advertisers is to determine how and where to reach them before those decisions get made. Fortunately, the Internet is especially well suited to this assignment. The vast mosaic of specialty content online provides advertisers with the opportunity to integrate their message into editorial environments that are highly meaningful and engaging to Internet users, which is what it takes to be in the right time and place.”