According to a survey done by Shop.org, 83% of online retailers plan to offer free shipping during the holiday season which is the most important factor to online shoppers. A couple of keynotes from the article:
:By the end of October, about 63% of online retailers will have started running holiday promotions

:About 12% of retailers will add early shopper discounts this year, with nearly 39% offering the enticements this year

:By October, about 34% of consumers will make a holiday purchase, with another 26% starting in early to mid-November

The article also states that 97% of online retailers will invest in marketing through search engines and comparison sites.

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