The data revealed 41 percent of all respondents plan to purchase a gift this Valentine ’s Day, and most men (57 percent) plan to use the Internet to aid in their purchase process. The top three reasons cited for how respondents planned to use the Internet included, “get gift ideas ” (32 percent), “compare prices/find deals ” (27 percent), and “find a specific product ” (21 percent).

“Some of our assumptions about Valentine ’s Day and associated consumer behavior proved to be correct; men still gravitate towards flowers and jewelry, for example, ” said Stuart Larkins, vice president of search for DoubleClick Performics. “But we were surprised to learn that many consumers plan to shop a few weeks prior. So the convenience of the Internet to search before an online or offline purchase seems to be stifling the procrastination we expected to uncover among Valentine ’s Day shoppers. ”

Select findings from the survey include:

• Sixty-four percent of Valentine ’s Day gift purchasers plan to spend $50 or less; men have a higher gift purchase budget than women, spending an average of $82.60 compared to women who spend and average of $49.60
• The most popular gift choices include candy (52 percent), flowers (39 percent), gift certificates (21 percent) and books/music/DVDs (19 percent) in popularity
• Thirty-seven percent of males find Valentine ’s Day purchases to be “more challenging ” compared to other holiday purchases

Although respondents cited convenience as the key reason for why they planned to use the Internet to assist in their purchase, many searched online but purchase Valentine ’s Day gifts offline. Respondents plan to purchase the overall most popular gifts for men and women, flowers and candy, offline.

“Retailers should understand the potential link between online research and in store purchases, even for a simple item like Valentine ’s Day candy. No matter where consumers intend to make their purchases, online is proving to be the springboard and a key influencer for much of their purchase activities, ” said Larkins.

Copies of the complete study are available upon request.