Gartner Survey Shows Most U.S. Holiday Shoppers Bought at Only a Select Few Online Retailers
BUSINESS WIRE - January 22, 2001 06:00
STAMFORD, Conn., Jan 22, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- While billions of dollars were spent online this past holiday season, U.S. consumers spent most of this money at a small number of Web sites, according to a new survey by Gartner Group, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB). Eighty-seven percent of the consumers who bought on the Web told Gartner they spent their holiday gift dollars at a maximum of three different retailers' sites. Amazon.com was the most dominant purchasing site, with over a quarter of all buyers (28 percent) purchasing at least some gifts there. No other site attracted even half as many buyers.
Gartner's survey showed that nearly 25 million American consumers bought gifts online this past holiday season. The results of the survey showed these consumers spent nearly $6.2 billion online for holiday gifts.
"Consumers don't yet see the Web the same way they see a shopping mall, as a place to stroll, browse and window shop in search of gifts," said David Schehr, research director for Gartner's e-Business Services group. "Consumers continue to show that they use sites they are already familiar with, and in most cases for only those things they've come to expect at the sites. Other research we've completed shows that consumers don't usually think of the sites they use as one-stop shopping locations, but more as specialty stores for selected categories."
The idea of shopping at a "cybermall" was not as prevalent in the survey results by Gartner. When asked, 70 percent of online gift buyers stated that they generally had a particular item or product in mind when they went online to buy. Twenty-two percent of online gift buyers said that they generally browsed a variety of sources without a specific item in mind.
Additional information on this research is available to subscribers of Gartner's E-Business Services. These programs are part of a wide range of Gartner services examining the e-business industry. These programs are designed to help senior executives, strategic planners and investors capitalize on emerging opportunities by providing research and analysis on electronic commerce and Internet marketplaces. Additional information on these programs is available on Gartner's Web site at www.gartner.com. To subscribe to these services, please call 800-419-DATA or 408-468-8009.
About Gartner
Gartner provides unrivaled thought leadership for more than 10,000 organizations, helping clients achieve their business objectives through the intelligent and efficient use of technology. Additionally, Gartner helps technology companies identify and maximize technology market opportunities. Gartner's technology content and strong brand reach IT professionals globally through Gartner Research, its research and advisory unit; Gartner Services, its custom consulting unit; Gartner Events, including Gartner's renowned Symposia; and, at www.gartner.com. Gartner subsidiary TechRepublic Inc. (www.techrepublic.com) is the leading online destination developed exclusively for IT professionals by IT professionals. Gartner, founded in 1979 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, achieved fiscal 2000 revenue of $859 million. Gartner's 4,600 associates, including 1,400 research analysts and consultants, are in more than 80 locations worldwide. For more information about Gartner's industry-leading products and services, please visit us on the Web at www.gartner.com.
CONTACT: Gartner Group, Inc. Tom McCall, 408/468-8312 tom.mccall@gartner.com
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