Despite the high percentage of online shopping, 64 percent of Americans still prefer shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, according to a Pew Research Center survey released this week.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Perhaps it's because our cellphones make it seem so easy. Or because Christmas and Hanukkah seem to have crept up so quickly this year. But whatever the reason, a whopping 79 percent of Americans have now bought something online -- and most of us did so via our phones.
Yet, despite the high percentage of online shopping, 64 percent of Americans say they actually prefer shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, according to a Pew Research Center survey released this week.
So why are so many of us shopping online?
According to Pew's survey of 4,787 adults: 65 percent of us compare store prices to online prices and pick the one that's cheaper; 21 percent say they like buying in stores without checking online prices; and 14 percent buy online without checking in-store prices first.
Pew found that 45 percent of Americans have used their phones to look up online reviews or other sellers' prices for things they were considering buying in store.
"When the Center first asked about online shopping in a June 2000 survey, just 22 percent of Americans had made a purchase online," Pew said.
In its most recent survey, 15 percent of respondents said they shop online weekly, 28 percent said they do so a few times a month, and 37 percent said they shop online less often than once a week. Twenty percent said they never shop online.
Of those who bought online for the first time:
-- 86 percent of consumers say they want to compare prices from different retailers,
-- 84 percent like being able to ask questions about what they are buying,
-- 84 percent said they like buying from already-familiar sellers,
-- 78 percent say it's important to able to try the product first,
-- 77 percent like being able to get advice from people they know, and
-- 74 percent like being able to read online reviews from other buyers.
When buying something for the first time, 82 percent check out the online ratings and reviews first, while only 40 percent of regular online buyers say they always consult online reviews when buying.
Forty-six percent of consumers say online reviews help them feel confident about what they're buying, and 45 percent say they help keep companies accountable to their customers, Pew said.
Of those who read online reviews, 51 percent believe they're generally accurate, while 48 percent are skeptical about whether they can be trusted as unbiased.
After buying something, 39 percent of Americans have shared their experience with the purchase via social media.
Pew said the margin of error for its survey is plus or minus 1.94 percentage points.