Survey: product information gathering top reason to browse on Web

A survey by the International Mass Retail Association (IMRA) shows that 54% of holiday shoppers turn to the Internet for to gather product information. Shoppers’ second msot common use of the Web is to see if a particular store carries a specific product—39% cited this choice. And 38% say they make online transactions, while 35% are looking for gift ideas, and 32% compare prices.

IMRA surveyed 1,000 customers Dec. 7-9. The survey also showed that men are more likely than women to seek information about products online (62% vs. 46%) but less likely to buy products online than women (36% vs. 40%).