83% of Internet users will shop online in 2005 holiday season

A Web survey by Yahoo! and Harris Interactive suggests 83% of participants said they would shop for holiday gifts online, and 80% said they are likely to purchase gifts online from small businesses. 30% of holiday shoppers polled said they will do at least half of their holiday shopping online. 63% said online specialty or 'niche' retailers are the best places to shop for unusual or hard-to-find gifts. If gas prices at the pump remain high, 79% said they would change their shopping habits during the holiday buying season. 59% of the survey participants said it was important their favorite specialty or gift stores have an online presence. 70% said they had no preference between shopping online with small versus large businesses.