ShopSmart Online Shopping Poll Reveals Nearly All American Women Shopping Online Are Buying Online

Women Shopping Online for 1.2 Hours Per Week; Tips for Smarter Online

Shopping

    YONKERS, N.Y., May 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For women, online
 shopping isn't just about browsing; it's about putting money where their
 mouse is. A new poll conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research
 Center for ShopSmart magazine, the new shopping magazine from the
 publishers of Consumer Reports, finds that nearly all (96%) of American
 women who have shopped online in the past 12 months have purchased at least
 one product over the Web. Most online shoppers (57%) do both their product
 research and shopping online while a sizeable proportion do their research
 online and then go to a store to buy (31%).
     "But, despite the fact that women seem to be so comfortable with online
 shopping, ShopSmart's poll results show that there are still a lot of
 'gotchas' out there," said Lisa Lee Freeman, editor-in-chief of ShopSmart.
 "That's why the new issue of ShopSmart includes must-read tips and advice
 to arm these time-starved women. This way they can shop smarter and safer
 online."
     The ShopSmart Online Shopping Poll finds:
 
      Women Spend Time Shopping On The Internet, Among Online Shoppers...
 
     -- Women spend an average of 1.2 hours per week shopping online.
     -- More than half (52%) of the time devoted to shopping for non-grocery
        items in a typical week is online.
 
          Shopping During Work Hours; Shopping After 5 PM Is "Me" Time
 
     -- Has online shopping had a great impact on workplace productivity?
        Probably so. Nearly one in five (18%) working women admit that they do
        most of their online shopping during work hours.
     -- But, most online shopping is usually done between the hours of
        5 PM and 12 AM (54%).
     -- Time spent shopping online is about shopping for themselves (51%),
        whereas time spent shopping in stores is more often focused on family
        members or others (56%).
 
                   Most Shopping Experiences Are Good; But...
 
     -- Despite the amount of time women are spending online, one-third (32%)
        of women who have shopped online in the past year said they had a
        negative experience.
     -- Among those women, 20% said they never got the item they ordered.
        Another 13% said the merchandise was very different than represented.
     -- And 451,588 American women claimed to have had their credit card number
        stolen online in the last 12 months.
 
                           You Spent How Much Online?
 
     -- On average the most ever spent for an item online was $397 and 15% have
        spent $1,000 or more.
     -- In the past 12 months, more than one-quarter of women shopping online
        have spent more than $1,000, and 9% have spend $2,500 or more.
 
                     Women Prefer Grocery Shopping Offline
 
     -- What is the top item women won't buy online?  17% of women say they
        would never consider buying food on the Web followed by clothing (14%),
        shoes (8%) and jewelry (7%).
 
                        Tips to Smarter Online Shopping
     In addition to covering the online shopping trends of women in America,
 ShopSmart's report offers tips on how to shop online to save money and
 avoid rip-offs:
     -- MAKE SURE YOU PAY THE LOWEST PRICE EVERY TIME -- Due to a little known
        trick called "dynamic pricing", you could be charged a different amount
        for the same item as someone else. The price offered depends on the
        time of day, availability of a product and whether you've looked at the
        item online before which is traceable through the use of cookies. To
        circumvent this trap do multiple searches on several price comparison
        sites in different browsers and even on separate computers to check if
        prices vary. You can also clear out cookies from your web browser to
        cover up those electronic footprints.
     -- MAKE SURE YOU BUY FROM A TRUSTWORTHY SITE -- Choose sites that
        physically have a store nearby so, should you have a problem, you can
        approach the store manager. If you are unfamiliar with an online vendor
        read reviews from several different sites, eyeball the site to make
        sure it clearly lists an address, phone number and spells out all
        transaction details. Misspellings or bad grammar are two hallmarks of
        amateurish sites that may be trying to rip you off.
     -- PICK THE RIGHT WAY TO PAY -- The best way to protect yourself is to use
        a credit card as most large card issuers waive liability when the card
        is stolen. Using a check, money order or debit card leaves little
        recourse. Encrypted Web pages safe guard your credit card numbers as
        they fly through cyberspace, while the real danger occurs when your
        data reaches its destination. Consider using one of the new payment
        systems such as checkout.google.com and BillMeLater which allow you to
        pre-register and prevent you from having to enter your credit card
        numbers on lots of different sites.
     ShopSmart Online Shopping Poll Methodology
     The Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a telephone
 survey of a nationally representative probability sample of telephone
 households. 427 interviews were completed among adults aged 18+.
 Interviewing took place over February 22-26, 2007. The margin of error is
 +/- 4.8% points at a 95% confidence level.
     About ShopSmart magazine:
     Launched in Fall 2006 by Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer
 Reports, ShopSmart draws upon Consumer Reports' celebrated tradition of
 accepting no advertisements and providing unbiased product reviews. The
 magazine features product reviews, shopping tips on how to get the most out
 of products and "best of the best" lists. ShopSmart is ideal for busy
 shoppers who place a premium on time. ShopSmart has a newsstand price of
 $5.99 and is available nationwide at major retailers including Barnes &
 Noble, Wal-Mart, Borders, Kroger, Safeway and Publix.
 
 

SOURCE ShopSmart