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Survey: 78% of Consumers Plan to Shop Online This Holiday Season; Most Will Shop Between 7 p.m. and Midnight

56% Are Likely to Use Comparison Shopping Engines; Those Who Do Use Them Expect to Save More Than 15%

SAN MATEO, Calif. November 20, 2006 — Vendio™, makers of Dealio™, the leading comparison shopping toolbar on the Web, today disclosed the results of a major new survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation which identifies consumers' perceptions and expectations around holiday shopping on the Web. Conducted earlier this month and involving more than 1,000 adult consumers with Internet access, the survey shows how, when, and where consumers plan to shop online during the busiest buying season of the year.

The survey found that while more than 75% of all consumers intend to conduct their holiday shopping online, and 41% say they "will consider" using comparison shopping engines, only 15% are definitely planning to use such "shopping search" utilities for online holiday shopping. Among consumers who had previously used comparison shopping engines, 57% of them said they saved 16% or more on those purchases, while 20% of them said they saved 30% or more.

"The survey results indicate a general lack of awareness of comparison shopping services amongst online shoppers," said Rodrigo Sales, CEO and co-founder of Vendio. "While the majority of consumers take advantage of the convenience and time savings that result in shopping online, a large percentage of them have yet to try a comparison shopping engine, despite the significant money - and time - that can be saved by doing so."

Key findings of the survey included:

Online Holiday Shopping Plans:

Percentage of purchases made online: Of the 78% of consumers who said that some of their holiday shopping would occur online:
  • 50% said that 25% of their holiday shopping would take place online
  • 23% said that more than 50% of their holiday shopping would take place online
  • 16% said that more than 70% of their holiday shopping would take place online
Amount of purchases made online: Of those same consumers who plan to conduct some of their holiday shopping online:
  • 39% plan to spend up to $100 in online holiday purchases
  • 22% plan to spend between $100 and $200 in online holiday purchases
  • 16% plan to spend between $200 and $400 in online holiday purchases
  • 23% plan to spend $400 or more in online holiday purchases
Peak online shopping hours: Of those same consumers who plan to conduct some of their holiday shopping online, when asked to select one or more timeframes in which they planned to shop:
  • 42% will conduct their online holiday shopping between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
  • 43% will conduct their online holiday shopping between 9 p.m. and Midnight
  • 22% will conduct their online holiday shopping between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Merchant preferences: Of those same consumers who plan to conduct some of their holiday shopping online, when asked to select one or more types of stores they planned to shop:
  • 56% plan to buy from large, established online stores, even if the prices are higher than at smaller, lesser-known e-tailers
  • 54% plan to shop at discount online outlets such as eBay, Overstock.com and Half.com
  • 24% plan to shop at smaller, lesser-known e-tailers as long as the price is the absolute lowest

Online Comparison Shopping Perceptions/Experiences:

Saving Via Comparison Shopping Engines: Of the consumers who had previously used a comparison shopping Web site or toolbar:
  • 57% said they had saved 16% or more on those purchases
  • 21% said they had saved 30% or more on those purchases
When asked to put the savings realized via comparison shopping engines in dollar amounts:
  • 46% said they saved up to $20 on their most recent purchase
  • 22% said they saved between $20 and $40 on their most recent purchase
  • 23% said they saved between $40 and $100 on their most recent purchase
  • 9% said they saved more than $100 on their most recent purchase
Comparison Shopping Usage: Of all consumers surveyed who indicated they would be doing some of their holiday shopping online this year,
  • 37% of consumers said they had used a comparison shopping Web site or toolbar
  • 33% said they were aware of such utilities but had not used one
  • 30% stated they were not aware of comparison shopping engines
When asked to choose one or more reasons why they would use a comparison shopping toolbar or Web site this holiday season:
  • 74% said they would help them save money
  • 57% said they would help them save time
  • 30% said they had used them before with good results
Consumers over age 55 were particularly interested in time savings, with 70% saying they used comparison shopping Web sites and toolbars to save time.

Of the 44% of consumers who said they would probably not or definitely not use a comparison shopping engine, when asked to select one or more reasons why:
  • 53% said they preferred to see the item in personi
  • 50% said they preferred to shop in brick and mortar type stores
  • 20% said they didni't know how to use comparison shopping engines
  • 7% said comparison shopping engines don't search enough merchants to make them useful
Consumers age 65 or older were generally unfamiliar with comparison shopping engines, with 29% saying they didn't know how to use them. The response in this age group was nearly 50% more than the overall consumer base.

Household Income a Factor: Of the consumers who said they would probably not or definitely not use a comparison shopping engine for some portion of their holiday shopping:
  • 22% of consumers with household incomes under $25,000 said that none of their holiday shopping would be conducted via a comparison shopping toolbar or Web site
  • 16% of consumers with household incomes between $25,000 and $39,999 said that none of their holiday shopping would be conducted via a comparison shopping toolbar or Web site
  • 9% of consumers with household income of $40,000 or more said that none of their holiday shopping would be conducted via a comparison shopping toolbar or Web site
Free to consumers, Dealio's search results reflect the inventories of more than 100,000 qualified online merchants who collectively offer well over 30 million products of all kinds via the Web. The inclusion of tens of thousands of eBay listings (both traditional auction and fixed price/storefront listings) further sets Dealio apart, providing the consumer with the most complete "snapshot" of current pricing for virtually any product sold online. Dealio contains no spyware, adware or "mal-ware" of any kind.

For media inquiries only:

Helen Fang
Vendio Services Inc.
650-293-3538
Contact Public Relations

About Vendio

Founded in 1999, Vendio Services, Inc. (www.vendio.com) helps small- to medium-sized merchants (SMM's) succeed by offering them an integrated solution to manage their sales seamlessly and cost-effectively across multiple online sales channels including their online store, Amazon.com, eBay, Google, Shopzilla, and more. Each year over 100,000 merchants use Vendio’s award winning multi-channel Platform and Applications to sell over $2 billion in merchandise. The company also operates Dealio (www.dealio.com), a shopping and coupons site for consumers. Vendio is a venture backed, privately-held company headquartered in San Mateo, California with offices in Romania and India.
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