“The holidays are just around the corner and we know many retailers need insight on how consumers shop,” said Samer Forzley, Vice President of Marketing at eBillme.com.

“The fact that 69 percent of consumers plan on purchasing gift cards is evidence that they are approaching holiday shopping in a different way this year. Using gift cards online is an excellent way to save time, money and effort. We expect to see similar shopping habits this year as more consumers recognize gift cards are a convenient and affordable means of shopping.”

Consumers were also surveyed about when and where they planned to shop. 11 percent of participants plan to do most of their holiday shopping on Cyber Monday, while 48 percent plan to avoid Black Friday shopping in favor of shopping online.

“We will see an increase in shopping online this year which will put Internet retailers in a better position to attract customers and sales,” said Forzley.

“ Although consumers are still spending cautiously because of economic uncertainty, the online shopping increase is a positive sign that consumer confidence is on the rise.”

Ifeelgoods powers e-commerce promotions with virtual goods incentives in place of existing incentives like coupons, discounts and rebates. A typical use of a Facebook Credits incentive is for purchases, Buy these jeans and get 25 free Facebook Credits. Promotions powered by Ifeelgoods, including with Facebook Credits, can be extended to customer acquisition campaigns such as in banner ads.

Facebook Credits can also be used for micro-incentives, where retailers give small rewards with vaules of , for example 10, 20 or 30 cents for customer actions. Examples include, Sign up for our email newsletter and receive three free Facebook Credits, Share this product with your friends on Facebook and get one free Facebook Credit, or Vote for your favorite outfit and get two free Facebook Credits.

“Facebook Credits can be used in more than 150 social games and apps on Facebook, which makes them versatile and valuable,” said Suchit Dash, Ifeelgoods Co-Founder and VP of Product.

“Our work with Facebook allows retailers to begin innovating with Facebook Credits to drive higher sales, increase customer engagement and deepen loyalty.”

According to the most recent survey of 9,578 adults used in this analysis, nearly nine out of 10 adults (87.5%) say they have a cell phone, an increase of 17.9 percent from January 2006 (74.2%).

With ecommerce expanding to m-commerce, many people want the convenience of being able to shop or browse company’s websites from their phone. The survey found 41.5 percent of adults want a cell phone with Internet access, compared to just under one-third (32.6%) who said so in July 2008. More than half (51.4%) of adults 18-34 years old say they want to be able to surf the web on their phone, compared to the 41.0 percent who said so in July 2008.

“Americans expect more from their phones than the ability to talk to family and friends,” said NRF President and CEO Matt Shay.

“Aside from sending pictures and sharing stories and experiences over social networking sites, consumers want to be able to connect with their favorite retailers in a way they never have been able to before – instantaneously. The emergence of m-commerce has created a paradigm shift that has the retail industry very excited.”

When it comes to other cell phone features or attributes, adults say email access has also increased in importance over the years. Over half (51.1%) of 18-34 year-olds say they want a cell phone with email access, up from 28.1 percent in January 2006. But young adults aren’t the only ones who favor email access: according to the survey, 42.6 percent of all adults want email on their phone, up significantly from 22.5 percent four years ago.

“The combination of new technologies coupled with consumers’ desire to adopt these new apps are redefining the cell phone into a ‘consumer communicator’,” said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President of Strategy, BIGresearch.

“Marketers and retailers should leverage shopper’s needs to stay connected by providing information and communications to assist them with their purchase decisions.”

Shoppers spent $6 billion online during the month, equal to $108 for every person in the UK. The Index shows a 3 percent increase in sales in May compared to April.

There was a 23 percent increase in alcohol sales compared to last year as shoppers stocked up ahead of the World Cup. This was driven by discounted prices being offered by many retailers. Sales of electronics also jumped 13 percent, maybe an indication of the surge in flat screen TVs being sold to coincide with the tournament.

Sales of clothes online rose considerably in May, with a 32 percent increase compared to last year, in line with the warmer weather as well as the World Cup fueling sales of sportswear ahead of England’s matches.

“With online sales growing at their highest rate in almost two years, this is good news for the e-retail industry,” said Tina Spooner, Director of Information at IMRG. The fine weather in late May, together with the build up for the World Cup appears to have had a positive impact for e-retailers.”

“Year to date, the UK e-retail market has grown 14%, which is in line with our predictions for this year. With recent research suggesting that over half of consumers believe the economy is now recovering from the recession, it is evident that e-retailers have already started to benefit from an increase in consumer spending.”

The research firm benchmarks against the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) when forecasting ecommerce sales. The DOC estimated online sales increased 4.6 percent in 2008, reaching $133.6 billion.

In 2011, online sales are predicted to reach double-digit growth rates, similar to those seen before 2008. This growth will come from online shoppers who move a greater portion of their discretionary spending from traditional stores to the Web. Consumer demand, especially among affluent online shoppers, will provide an additional sales boost.

eMarketer says that by 2012, ecommerce sales growth will start to slow because of maturation of the channel, as growth in new online buyers nears saturation. Overall from 2008 to 2013 retail ecommerce sales will increase at a 9 percent compound annual growth rate.

“As retail ecommerce sales growth slows, the appreciation of the internet as a research tool for in-store purchases will magnify,” said Jeff Grau, eMarketer senior analyst.

“We caught a glimpse of this during the 2008 holiday shopping season, when consumers were more resourceful than ever in researching products prior to purchase in-store and online.”