Rye Brook, NY - October 21, 2010 - 8 percent of consumers plan to spend more online for holiday gifts this year, a nine percent increase over last year. This is according to the eBillme Online Spending Index, a quarterly survey conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research. The Index polls 1,200 consumers to measure projected online spending for the quarter and the influencing factors. During the fourth quarter, consumers are planning to spend an average of $283.68 online, a three percent increase over Q4 2009.
Consumers plan to take full advantage of the eCommerce channel for holiday spending. 15 percent of consumers surveyed plan to do most of their shopping on Cyber Monday, while 55 percent of consumers plan to avoid Black Friday in favor of shopping online, a seven percent increase over 2009. And when it comes to what shoppers plan to buy, 69 percent know they will purchase at least one gift card for the holidays this year.
This quarter consumers were also asked how long it took to pay off last year’s holiday purchases. 33 percent of respondents enjoyed a debt-free holiday by paying cash for all of last year’s purchases.
- 39 percent had all purchases paid off in less than three months.
- 12 percent of consumers said it took three to six months to pay off holiday debt.
- 5 percent of consumers needed six to nine months to pay off holiday purchases.
- 5 percent of consumers are still paying off last year’s holiday gifts.
“While consumer spending remains cautious for the holidays, our Index shows opportunities for the online retail sector,” says Marwan Forzley, President and CEO of eBillme. “More consumers will turn to the Internet for holiday shopping this year putting online retailers in a better position to attract customers and sales. The fact that 33 percent of consumers shopped without credit cards last year is evidence that consumers are approaching holiday shopping differently. They are saving and spending within their means rather than following the buy now pay later mantra. We expect to see similar shopping habits this year as the number of consumers preferring cash over credit continues to increase.”
The Online Spending Index is released quarterly by eBillme, the most secure payment option online that enables consumers to pay with cash using online banking and walk-in locations. eBillme offers consumers buyer protection features including satisfaction guarantee, best price, and fraud protection, in addition to cash-back rewards through the eBillme Rewards program.
For more information or to receive the full findings from this quarter’s Index, please contact Alicia Buonanno at or 610-228-2096.
About the Index
The Index is based on data collected from an online consumer survey deployed quarterly starting in August 2008, with a sample size of 1,209 respondents. The survey targeted US adults (age 18 +) and was based on representative proportions of gender, ethnicity and income as compared to the overall US online population. Overall margin of sampling error is ±2.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
The next Index will be released in January, 2011. Data from the Index will be posted on the eBillme website, http://www.ebillme.com/merchants/.
About eBillme
eBillme™ is the most secure way to pay online and the only online payment solution that extends the convenience of online banking to the merchant’s checkout process. The service enhances security for online shoppers, and enables merchants to increase sales while reducing transaction costs. No financial data is exposed and the payment transaction is securely transferred from the customer’s bank to the retailer’s bank. Consumers can shop online, by catalog or through call centers, and pay for their purchases at their bank, credit union, or bill pay portal using the security and convenience of online banking or by paying the bill at over 75,000 walk-in locations. For more information, please visit www.eBillme.com, eBillme’s Online Debt-Free Shopping Mall or the eBillme blog.
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