More Canadians are preparing to spend money online this Christmas season, a national study shows.
The Ipsos-Reid survey of 1,000 regular Internet users (those who spend one hour per week or more online) shows 18 per cent of them indicate they are likely to buy gifts over the Net. An additional 28 per cent indicate they might buy online this holiday season.
Canadian Internet users planning to buy online indicate they will make 27 per cent of their entire gift purchases over the Net, compared to 12 per cent in 1999 and only three per cent in 1998.
On average, the 57 per cent of Canadians who go online regularly plan to spend $900 in gifts this holiday season, the study shows.
Based on the above findings, Ipsos-Reid estimates conservatively that more than $535 million will be spent on Internet gift purchases among all Internet users in Canada, a significant increase from the $282 million projected to be spent online during the 1999 season when a similar study was conducted.
Steve Mossop, senior vice-president of Ipsos-Reid, said: “The challenge for retailers will be in providing seamless customer service and on-time delivery, two problems that could still result in this sector not reaching its full potential.”
The online study was conducted in late September 2000. The survey was complemented by a further 1,500 interviews by phone. It can be said with 95 per cent certainty that the overall results are within plus or minus 3.1 percentage points of what they would have been had all regular online users been surveyed.
Web Watch:
www.ipsos-reid.com
