Posted by Mike Sachoff

The majority (83%) of consumers shop online at least once a week, according to a new study by Compete.

Consumers are searching for retailers on Facebook and Twitter in growing numbers, 31 percent report checking out Facebook fan pages or Twitter feeds of retailers, almost twice as many people as in Q3 2009.

Research indicates that over the next six months, the “most shopped” products online will be entertainment related, including movies, music, video games, e-media and books.

Forty-four percent of consumers reported they research electronics online, but purchase electronics at a store, 30 percent do so with kitchen items, 28 percent with media and 28 percent prefer to research furniture online and buy it in the store.

Marketers can overcome barriers to buying online by offering incentives that address the reasons many consumers research products online, but by offline. Some of the top ways to encourage consumers to buy more products online are free shipping (87 percent), free returns (63 percent), and fast shipping (42 percent). In addition, the ability to use in-store coupons online is increasingly valued among consumers — 51 percent indicated it is a motivator to make more purchases online — up from the 19 percent reported in Q1 2010.

“As retailers look toward the rapidly approaching holidays, they should prepare for an uptick in spending — over half of all respondents said that compared to last year, they will be spending as much or more this holiday season,” said Debra Arbesman, retail associate at Compete.

“Retailers should be mindful of these promising findings to create strategies that will better engage shoppers.”

This entry was posted on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 8:30 am and is filed under News. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About the Author: Mike is a staff writer for WebProNews.