PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Melissa Herrmann
 International Communications Research (ICR)
(484) 840-4300 ph
(484) 840-4599 fx
icr@icrsurvey.com
www.icrsurvey.com

22% of US Households Will Buy Online this Holiday Season  

Media, PA - December 9, 2004 - American households increasingly turn to the Internet to shop during the holiday season, October, November and December of each year.    This year, ICR estimates that 22% of American households will make at least some holiday purchases online.

Over the last three years, there has been a gradual increase in the number of households making purchases on the Internet.  An average of 18% of households made purchases online each month in 2002, rising to an average of 20% in 2004.  At the same time, the number of households shopping online during the holiday season has held at a relatively constant 2% above the average for the full year.

This conclusion is based on a review of monthly shopping data from the ICR CENTRISsm home technology omnibus survey program for each month from October 2001 through October 2004.  The question used is:  Has your household purchased products or services via the Internet or an online service in the last 30 days? 


The ICR CENTRISsm program gathers data by telephone from a random cross-section of 4,000 American households each month.  Monthly data from this survey has as little as a  +/- 1.52% margin of error (at 95% level of confidence).

About CENTRISsm:  CENTRISsm provides clients with current information on directions in the US consumer marketplace; it also provides a definitive view of the evolution of home technology over much of the last decade.

In addition to proprietary questions submitted by clients, CENTRISsm gathers data each month on computer, video and phone equipment in the household, wireless and Internet services, and cable and satellite television service use.  CENTRISsm data is collected through telephone interviews with the adult male or female head of household, 18 years of age or older, and is weighted to both population and household U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

CENTRISsm is one of five omnibus programs run by ICR, including the EXCELsm adult consumer omnibus, TeenEXCELsm, HispanicEXCELsm and Small Business EXCELsm programs.

About ICR:  ICR is a nationally recognized research organization offering insight into market evaluations.  Through its research in over 70 countries worldwide, ICR provides marketing, messaging, product development, customer satisfaction/loyalty, branding, public relations and social science research.  Industries of specialty include advertising/PR, financial/ insurance, cable/entertainment, consumer products, healthcare, high tech/internet, pharmaceuticals, media, retail, telecom and utilities.

For more information on worldwide research please contact International Communications Research at 484-840-4300 or www.icrsurvey.com