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Consumers spending more online; 43% say economy is improving

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Note: The Skinny blog is written by Rick Smith, editor and co-founder of Local Tech Wire and business editor of WRAL.com.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Retailers looking ahead to the holiday shopping season might not find much comfort in ChannelAdvisor’s third annual survey of consumers’ buying attitudes.

Buyers are spending more online with 27 percent more saying they spend $76 or more a month than they did a year ago.

The venture capital-backed e-commerce services firm that works with some of the world’s largest retailers and online sellers says 43 percent of consumers surveyed believe the economy is improving.

Plus, 41 percent say the economy won’t affect their shopping habits.

ChannelAdvisor set a fourth consecutive record for what it calls GMV – gross merchandise value last year. The company earns its revenues based largely on a share of sales made by its customers that use ChannelAdvisor for just-in-time inventory management and other tools, so it pays closely to what consumers are thinking. Their online buys are the firm's lifeblood.

Brick-and-mortar retailers will face plenty of competition from online sites. Fifty-eight percent of people in the survey say they plan to buy online, nearly 20 points higher than in-store buyers.

Retailers also have to be ready to compete across a broad spectrum, ChannelAdvisor says since only 10 percent of shoppers start their gift expeditions at a retailer’s own website. Nearly 60 percent, meanwhile, start with search engines while 28 comparison shop initially at so-called marketplaces.

Value, meanwhile, rather than a store retail name, is much more important in buy decisions with 67 percent telling ChannelAdvisor they would by the same product at an unknown store based on price.

A whopping 92 percent also say they utilize product reviews while shopping with 46 percent making buys influenced by those reviews.

As for incentives, “best price” is No. 1 in buying decisions.

Buyers also value security verification from websites in making buying choices followed by reviews and the website’s design.

ChannelAdvisor’s full survey is available for free as a download here.

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The Skinny

WRAL Local Tech Wire Publisher and Editor Rick Smith dishes out tidbits from the local technology sector. Read more articles…