Heather Dougherty Year Quotations

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

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

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.

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.

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.