Holiday Survey Reveals: Women Shop Like Santa, Men Shop Like Scrooge

Mrs. Claus Drives the Sleigh:

Women are already driving the sleigh when it comes to onlineshopping with 68% of online purchases made by females, up 4% from2004. Not surprisingly, women typically identify more with Santa Claus(55%) while less than half the men surveyed (46%) report feeling likethe jolly holiday figurehead. Men are more likely to identify with TheGrinch (9%) and Ebineezer Scrooge (9%) than women (5% and 3%respectively).

More Shopping Gender Differences:

Women are significantly more likely to shop with friends (24% vs.12% of men). On average, men have 9 individuals on their holiday giftlist and women have 12. While nearly all online shoppers have familymembers on their holiday list (96% of men and 98% of women), women aremore likely to have other individuals on their list, for example, 74%of women report friends versus 54% of men. Co-workers, neighbors andservice professionals are also more likely to be on the holiday listsof women.

With rising gas prices, 40% of shoppers said they would make theirpurchases online to avoid driving to the malls.

"Our survey showed that 57% of shoppers like browsing andpurchasing gifts during the weekends and nights," said Helen Malani,chief shopping expert, Shopzilla, Inc. "This not only demonstrated themassive infiltration of broadband in the home but also reflectsconsumers' lives becoming busier during primetime, typically 9 to 5."

Consumers are Getting Comfy with their Computers:

The survey revealed consumers continue to get more comfortablewith online shopping. Of those asked, 86% have purchased gifts onlinein the past, while 30% of people make most of their purchases online.Furthermore, the majority of shoppers interviewed prefer shoppingalone and at night, making the Internet the ideal destination for 24/7shopping freedom. Most respondents (82%) shop online to save time andto make their purchases at any hour of the night. The survey indicated71% do so to avoid large crowds and 52% shop online to get the bestdeals.

About The Study:

The study, conducted by BizRate Research, a division of Shopzilla,Inc., was based on a point-of-sale survey with a sample of 2,456online buyers from September 23 through September 26, 2005.

About Shopzilla, Inc.:

Shopzilla, formerly BizRate.com, is the most powerful andeasiest-to-use shopping search site on the Web. With an index of morethan 30 million products from more than 60,000 stores, Shopzilla usesShopRank, a proprietary patent-pending algorithm, to help shoppersinstantly find virtually anything on sale from anyone, anywhere on theWeb at the best price. Shopzilla also features powerful comparisontools and BizRate consumer reviews of stores and products, the Web'slargest and most trusted consumer feedback network. Every weekShopzilla prepares millions of shoppers to make smarter, moreconfident purchases and sends them directly to the checkout page ofthousands of online merchants. Shopzilla also operates the BizRateconsumer feedback network with more than 2.5 million members and about1 million fresh reviews per month. Shopzilla powers shopping searchfor many of the Web's largest consumer sites including AOL, Lycos,Time Warner's RoadRunner, and many others.

Founded in 1996, the Los Angeles-based company also operates sitesin the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Shopzilla is owned by TheE.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP), a diverse media concern withinterests in national television networks, newspaper publishing,broadcast television stations, TV retailing and licensing andsyndication.

For more information, visit www.shopzilla.com, the smarter way toshop.

Holiday Gift and Online Shopping Fast Facts

Five Most Wanted Holiday Gifts for Men:
-- Gift Certificates
-- Electronics
-- Books
-- Toys & Games
-- Jewelry

Five Most Wanted Holiday Gifts for Women:
-- Gift Certificates
-- Books
-- Games
-- Clothing
-- Cosmetics/Bath & Beauty Products

What's Hot at Shopzilla.com:
-- Bare Minerals Cosmetics: http://www.shopzilla.com/8B--Cosmetics_-_
cat_id--95__keyword--BareMinerals
-- College Football Jerseys: http://www.shopzilla.com/8B--NCAA_Shop_-
_att295384--295253-__cat_id--12030500
-- iPod Nano: http://www.shopzilla.com/7S--MP3_Media_Players_-_att247
--551976-__cat_id--499__prerd--1
-- NFL Jerseys: http://www.shopzilla.com/8B--NFL_Shop_-_att382886--29
5253-__cat_id--12060300
-- Oreck Vacuums: http://www.shopzilla.com/8B--Vacuums_Accessories_-_
att259--266603-__cat_id--13110106

Online shopping this holiday season should reach $26.2 billion in
sales, up 21.9% from last year according to a 2005 eMarketer study.