Heather Dougherty Quotations

While many shoppers headed out to the stores over the weekend, the majority first turned to the Internet to check prices and product availability.

We remain enthusiastic about the start of this holiday season, as several categories saw substantial revenue increases. The growth in 2004 holiday revenue suggests that consumers are shifting more dollars to the Internet this season.

Luxury retailers spend a lot of money advertising in the off-line world, in print, because they are comfortable with that, they have more control over that situation. Those brands want to keep up a specific image, so they've been cautious about advertising online.

Luxury is coming of age. The luxury retailers have been successful in selling online, where before it was thought to be more of an in-store experience.

Online sales are poised to well outperform the growth in retail overall as more shoppers turn to the Web for convenience and values.

Online retailers continue to re-create the offline world on the Internet. People come out to the stores the day after Christmas looking for bargains. Now a natural part of shopping is to first poke around online. Some shoppers might see bargains online and decide they don't have to fight the crowds in the malls.

Online retailers are extending shipping deadlines later each year, which provides ample time to comparison shop for the best deal. Price remains one of the biggest motivators online and is reflected in large spikes in audience traffic.

Now that the 2005 holiday shopping season is underway, traffic to retail sites will climb as shoppers head back to work on Monday ready to make headway on their holiday shopping lists, ... Cyber Monday will bring additional growth in traffic for online retailers by luring shoppers to their sites through sales promotions and free shipping incentives.

If someone wants to play catch-up fast, that's the way to go.

I think it's a very good time for this. The advertising market is obviously far stronger than a few years ago, and Glam is going after a lot of luxury brands that hadn't yet come online then, and who still might be hesitant about it, and offering them a very controlled environment to test the waters.

I think it's a very good time for this, ... The advertising market is obviously far stronger than a few years ago, and Glam is going after a lot of luxury brands that hadn't yet come online then, and who still might be hesitant about it, and offering them a very controlled environment to test the waters.

People are becoming comfortable buying things like appliances online now.

Penney's is definitely at the forefront of adopting all this new type of technology.

Retailers are able to extend their business online and capture significant sales.

Like their offline counterparts, online shoppers have favorite retailers that they frequently visit. They are very familiar with the retailer's brand name and tend to go directly to their sites. However, some gifts may involve more research, in which case search engines and shopping comparison sites come into play. Most shoppers use a variety of channels to get their holiday shopping done.

The 2005 holiday season was a gadget year for consumers of all ages, and consumers continued to show their love for free shipping.

The advertising market is obviously far stronger than a few years ago, and Glam is going after a lot of luxury brands that hadn't yet come online then and who still might be hesitant about it, and offering them a very controlled environment to test the waters,

Most consumers know what sizes they wear. They no longer need to have the tactile experience that once made consumers cautious about buying apparel online.

Using the talk show format to promote products is far more contextually relevant for Amazon. It definitely makes sense. Certainly the popularity of that (format) offline, bringing that online could bode well.

Toys and video games were not as fortunate this year, with a lack of the must-have toy to drive sales. Moreover, the line between product categories are blurring with the introduction of more hybrid devices that can be considered consumer electronics or computer hardware.

Toys and video games were not as fortunate this year, with a lack of must-have toys to drive sales.

The fact that apparel was one of the more dominant product categories shows that consumers have a high comfort level with buying online.

Traffic to tax Web sites experienced substantial growth during the first week in February, suggesting that people who use online tax resources don't wait until the last minute to tackle their taxes.

Computer hardware and consumer electronics had a stellar season with the price reductions.

Cyber Monday brought a surge of traffic to many online retailers as shoppers returned to work following the holiday weekend ready to tackle their holiday gift lists.

Electronics demand was driven by a lot of aggressive pricing.

It was a huge gadget Christmas this year and those products are perfect for comparison shopping online.

People trust that their on-time delivery is going to happen.

People bought more than last year. You see the categories not changing very much from years past. We all expected a heavy gadget-type of Christmas.

A retailer can stand out by offering that kind of depth of information and making (Internet shopping) an enjoyable experience, particularly now because you do have so many more people on broadband.

Apparel sales are mirroring the spending habits of consumers in the offline world more and more.

Apparel remains one of the more dominant product categories during the holiday season, mirroring offline holiday retail behavior.

Apparel and consumer electronics are consistently among the most popular gifts purchased during the holidays, resulting in the largest share of online revenue.

They've been very aggressive so far. It's interesting, because for the past six years they've been trying to wean people off the idea that the Internet is all about low prices.

They know the brands they are going to find and they know that they will usually be able to return items if they need to. In a sense, online retail now looks more like traditional retail, where apparel has long been a mainstay throughout the year and especially during the holidays.

They failed to differentiate themselves in this market - going up against Smarterkids.com that is using customization,

It's a good time for online retailers to send some e-mail messaging to entice customers to both visit the site as well as potentially pull the trigger.

It's a good marketing opportunity for retailers -- it's a good excuse to reach out.

Create a nice, simple interface. It has to be a clear task that the kiosk is completing. You don't want the customer to find that the kiosk isn't doing what they expected it to do.

Consumers have spent the weekend with their family and they've been in the stores. They now have a holiday list going. And today is the first day that people are back at work in front of their computers,

Then, once someone dangled it, others had to ante up.

It's something that consumers expect. You can easily compare prices and find the best prices online and make the holiday budget stretch a little bit further.

E-commerce is gaining ground amongst consumers during the holiday season due to its convenience, product selection and lower prices.

The issue of shipping has been a difficult one for a lot of retailers. It could be one of the issues from this year that we see companies struggling with how to change in 2006.

In recent years, consumers shop online later and later in the holiday season making the week prior to the holidays the peak in online holiday shopping, with over half of shoppers completing all of their purchases. With guaranteed delivery by December 24th and additional discounts and incentives, online retailers continue to court shoppers until late in the season, looking to capture sales before shoppers turn to stores on Friday and Saturday for last minute purchases.

In recent years, consumers shop online later and later in the holiday season, making the week prior to the holidays the peak in online holiday shopping, with over half of shoppers completing all of their purchases. With guaranteed delivery by Dec. 24 and additional discounts and incentives, online retailers continue to court shoppers until late in the season.

The consistently high level of satisfaction each year increases the future expectations for online sales. More consumers are taking advantage of the benefits of e-commerce to avoid holiday crowds and purchase competitively priced gifts. Many of the free shipping promotions help level the playing field among the sales channels, which elevates satisfaction amongst online shoppers.

The lines are really blurring between toys and gadgets.