Internet Marketing

Online Shoppers Spend $12.7 Billion to Date with High Customer Satisfaction

ROCHESTER, N.Y. and NEW YORK December 13, 2004Goldman, Sachs & Co., Harris Interactive, and Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday eSpending Report revealed today that 27 percent of online consumers reported to have finished their holiday shopping, compared to 31 percent during the same timeframe in 2003. So far this season, the latest weekly report showed consumers have spent $12.7 billion online to date excluding travel.
According to the 2004 eSpending report, based on weekly surveys of more than 1,000 respondents, current results show that 23 percent have not yet begun their holiday shopping while 50 percent have started but have not completed their holiday gift buying. Based on last weeks shopping experience, 89 percent of current online shoppers will continue to buy online during this holiday season.

"We expect online holiday purchases to peak this week as the free shipping deadline for Dec. 24 delivery looms in mid-December," said Heather Dougherty, senior Retail analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. "Retailers are continuing to drive holiday sales through the Internet with special online-only sales and reduced-cost shipping promotions, which continue to motivate consumers to purchase gifts online."

Satisfied Consumers Spend More Online

The latest eSpending report showed that 39 percent of respondents are very satisfied and 24 percent are somewhat satisfied with their online shopping experience. In addition, 26 percent of this years holiday shoppers found it easier to find stores and products online while two percent stated online retail destinations were worse than in the previous year. Twenty-seven percent of online holiday shoppers look to spend more than last year.

When asked for the top five reasons in selecting a specific Website versus another site for purchases, 63 percent of respondents in week five stated item price was most important to them. Fifty-seven percent attributed product selection as the next top reason, and ease of use ranked third with 56 percent. Shipping costs were a deciding factor for 50 percent of this years holiday shoppers, according to these latest results. Forty-eight percent of consumers said that previous site registration or site familiarity was the fifth top reason for buying at a specific Website (see Table 1).

"Customer satisfaction and experience continues to be a driving factor for consumers to make online holiday purchases. Retailers initiatives to create a user-friendly experience and provide transparency into inventory availability resonates with customers looking to complete their holiday shopping quickly and easily," said Dougherty.

Table 1: Deciding Factors in Choosing to Retailers Websites for 2004

Week 5 Results

Business Internet Marketing Reason	2004
One thing Peak Uniques already has done is buy thousands of keywords related to its top products to encourage shoppers not just to browse, but to buy as well. Yet another reason for this holiday season's anticipated strong online sales is that more people feel more comfortable shopping on the Web, according to retail experts. Some studies even show older people, who shunned online shopping because they didn't trust a site's security, are one of the Internet' growing user segments. Internet Marketing Strategic	%
According to the National Retail federation, 47% of Holiday consumers shopped online last year and about 61 million people shopped online from work for holiday gifts. Internet Marketing Seo Item prices	63.4
(AXcess News) According to a recent survey by the Business Software Alliance, one out of four Internet users won't shop online during the holiday season due to concerns over Internet Security. Yet, Retailers are expecting "Cyber Monday" to be the strongest web sales day in history, which contradicts the BSA's stats. You be the judge. Almost all consumers surveyed believe it is important to protect themselves online and over half are planning to upgrade their computer security software within the next three months. Ebook Internet Marketing Product selection	56.7
As expected, purchase items for online Christmas shoppers are likely to be gifts, followed by holiday travel arrangements. Interestingly, 70% of respondents said that they can be easily distracted while Christmas shopping on the high street and frequently end up buying items for themselves as well. Encouragingly for online advertisers, 16% of respondents felt that they would be even more likely to shop around and treat themselves as well when shopping online, reinforcing the notion that internet users are increasingly receptive and responsive to online advertising. Business Home Internet Ease of use	55.7
If you don't care to risk getting mauled, why not join the millions of consumers that shopped from the comfort of their homes and offices last Holiday Season...with the simple click of a mouse. According to the National Retail federation, 47% of Holiday consumers shopped online last year and about 61 million people shopped online from work for holiday gifts. When asked why they like to shop online during the Holidays, 72% of consumers said that they want to avoid crowds. Internet Marketing Site Web Shipping costs/free shipping	50.4
Based Business Home Internet Already registered at the site/return customer	48.2
Internet Marketing Web Trusted brand name of site	41.2
Estate Internet Marketing Real Prior experience shopping offline with the company	31.2
Engine Internet Marketing Guarantees of credit card security	27.9
Affiliate Internet Marketing On-time shipping guarantees	19.5
Consulting Internet Marketing Ability to return to stores	12.2

*Source: Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive, and Nielsen//NetRatings eSpending Report, December 2004

*Number of respondents: More than 1,000 online U.S. adult consumers surveyed weekly (Week 5: n=1,193)

About the eSpending Report

The eSpending Report by Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings is based on a weekly national survey of more than 1,000 adult consumers who are online randomly invited to participate from among the Harris Interactive online panel of survey respondents. The week 5 data are based on a sample of 1,193 U.S. adults who are online, and to date, nearly 5,900 consumers in total have been surveyed. These week 5 data were weighted to be representative of the total U.S. online population of adults, and with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a sampling error of +/-3 percentage points. The eSpending Report offers weekly intelligence on online shopping and spending by market segment and also tracks consumer attitudes and motivations that drive online shopping.

About Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of services worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worth individuals. Founded in 1869, it is one of the oldest and largest investment banking firms. The firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive Inc. (www.harrisinteractive.com), the 15th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world, is a Rochester, N.Y.-based global research company that blends premier strategic consulting with innovative and efficient methods of investigation, analysis and application. Known for The Harris Poll and for pioneering Internet-based research methods, Harris Interactive conducts proprietary and public research to help its clients achieve clear, material and enduring results.

Harris Interactive combines its intellectual capital, databases and technology to advance market leadership through U.S. offices and wholly owned subsidiaries: London-based HI Europe (www.hieurope.com), Paris-based Novatris (www.novatris.com), Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan, through newly acquired WirthlinWorldwide (www.wirthlinworldwide.com), a Reston, Virginia-based research and consultancy firm ranked 25th largest in the world, and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V.

To become a member of the Harris Poll OnlineSM and be invited to participate in future online surveys, visit www.harrispollonline.com.

About Nielsen//NetRatings

Nielsen//NetRatings is the global standard for Internet audience measurement and analysis and is the industry's premier source for online advertising intelligence with its NetView, AdRelevance, @Plan, WebRF, LemonAd, MegaPanel and SiteCensus services. Covering 70 percent of the world's Internet usage, the Nielsen//NetRatings services offer syndicated Internet and digital media research reports and custom-tailored data to help companies gain valuable insight into their business. For more information, please visit www.nielsen-netratings.com.

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