Consumer Reports Reveals Shoppers Will Spend 10 Hours on Average for Holiday Shopping Online

Now that the holiday season is officially upon us, it's time to hit the stores. Not so fast, it appears more people are spending time shopping online. According to a recent poll from Consumer Reports the average consumer spends 10 hours of their holiday shopping online. This information along with other information about consumers' online shopping habits during the holiday shopping season was discovered in poll by Consumer Reports conducted November first through the fourth this year. The poll included 1,009 households. This information was provided in a recent press release from Consumer Reports.

The average adult will spend 10 hours shopping for the holidays online this holiday season according to the survey. For those that own a computer and have internet access from home the average was higher, at 11 hours total. There is a difference in the amount of time women spend shopping online when compared with men though according to the press release. On average 38 percent of women spend 10 hours or more shopping online for the holiday season. Meanwhile only 23 percent of men spend that same 10 hours or more of online shopping for the holidays.

Last year only 40 percent of adults shopped online during the holiday season. This year that is expected to increase by 2 percent to 42 percent of all adult shoppers. 41 percent of women say they will shop online this holiday shopping season. That is a 4 percent increase from last year's total of 37 percent. Meanwhile the internet shopping of males remains constant when compared with last holiday season.

There are many reasons that people provided in the survey for shopping online. The most popular was provided by almost half the participants with 48 percent saying it was for convenience. Meanwhile, 17 percent said they preferred online shopping to avoid holiday crowds. The third most common reason was provided by 12 percent of those surveyed, and that was for better selection. Finally, 11 percent said they shop online because they can find better prices there.