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AOL Shopping Survey Finds High Gas Prices Provoke More Online Holiday Shopping

Online Spending Will Increase Despite Shrinking Holiday Budgets; Tampa, San Diego, and Philadelphia Top List of Most Wired Shopping Cities in AOL's 2005 "Online Shopping Cities" Survey

Dulles, VA - November 22, 2005 - Keep the car in park and log onto the Web. That's what online shoppers are thinking this holiday season, according to AOL's 2005 "Online Shopping Cities" survey, which shows that Tampa, San Diego and Philadelphia top the list of the Most Wired Shopping Cities in the US this year for the first time.
Pressed by an unstable economy and high energy costs, online shoppers' overall holiday budgets will take a hit of more than 7% this year, falling to $526 from $565 last year. Yet the survey of 6,239 consumers who research and/or make purchases online found that 52% plan to do even more buying online this year. Respondents plan to spend nearly half of their budgets ($254) on Internet purchases, with Books, Apparel and Music/Videos as the most popular gift categories.

Debt Consolidation And Credit Of the respondents who said they are planning to do more shopping online this season, 49% said it's because "high gas prices make it too expensive to drive around to different retail locations."

Holiday Internet sales, though, could go up 20 percent to 35 percent and more, even though online shopping's appeal seems to have leveled off. Roughly 69 percent of people surveyed in this year's Deloitte & Touche USA LLP holiday mood survey, released Nov. 1, said they will do some of their shopping online. They also expected to spend 21 percent of their shopping budgets on the Web. Those percentages were about the same two years ago.

Check Credit Rating "Even though gas prices have been declining since their peak in early September, consumers are still feeling the emotional and financial pinch, and they clearly see shopping online as a great way to conserve cash they spend on loved ones this holiday season," commented Bob Hayes, Vice President and General Manager of E-Commerce, America Online. "And of course, shoppers continue to benefit from the convenience and flexibility always associated with buying over the Internet."

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Improve Credit Rating In addition to high gas prices, survey respondents who said they will be doing even more shopping online this year, cited the ability to:

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Credit Online Rating Report *shop all hours of the day and night (81%)

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In a time of high gas prices and a slowing economy, we’d expect eCommerce, or online shopping, to take off.?After all, if you’re savvy enough, you can find great prices for virtually anything in comparison to brick and mortar prices.

Bad Card Credit Credit People *avoid crowds (75%)

Free Credit Rating Report *research products (54%)

Credit Rating Scale *comparison shop (52%)

Bad Credit Rating Fifty-percent also said they are inspired by the free shipping that more online retailers will be offering this year. When it comes to how much money online shoppers will be spending this holiday season overall, 70% said their budgets will be influenced by factors such as the unstable economy, high gas and energy prices, the job market, as well as world events like hurricane Katrina and the war on Iraq .

Credit Rating Agency Tampa, San Diego and Philadelphia Emerge as Top Online Shopping Cities; San Francisco Drops Off Top 10 List for First Time

Credit Rating Canada The annual AOL "Online Shopping Cities" survey found that both Tampa (number 1) and San Diego (number 2) rose to the top of the 2005 list of online shoppers because of big online spending throughout the year, and Philadelphia moved up 25 spots to the number 3 ranking as a result of frequent online researching throughout the year. The rankings, comparing regional online shopping patterns in the top 30 markets, were based on how often respondents research online and buy online, and how much they report spending online in a given month.

Bad Credit Mortgage Rating Online shoppers in the top three cities reported spending an average of $236 per month on online purchases. That's 43% higher than online shoppers spend in the bottom three cities - Indianapolis, Orlando, Charlotte ($165).

Good Credit Rating Other regional findings:

Credit Score Rating Chart *San Francisco dropped considerably in the rankings, down to number 22 and off the top 5 list for the first time in the survey's four-year history.

Credit Mortgage Rating Poor *Chicago and Pittsburgh made the top 10 list for the first time this year, both showing marked increases in the amount of money online shoppers spend per month on the Internet.

Good Credit Rating Score "This year's survey shows how truly mainstream online shopping has become," added Hayes. "When we conducted our first Online Shopping Cities survey in 2001, we were a little surprised to find that traditional shopping meccas like San Francisco and New York topped the list. Over the years, we've seen more and more mid-level cities breaking into the top ten, which goes to show that online shopping is no longer a novelty, it has become a part of everyday shopping behavior no matter where you live."

Poor Credit Rating Loan The Top "Online Shopping Cities" based on a composite ranking of how often respondents research and purchase online, and how much they spend online per month:

Bank Credit Rating 2005 Ranking and City 2004 Ranking 1. Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota 23 2. San Diego 3 3. Philadelphia 28 4. Houston 17 5. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale 9 6. Washington, DC 7 7. New York 10 8. Dallas/Ft. Worth 5 9. Chicago 13 10. Pittsburgh 27

Credit Card For Poor Credit * Note to Editors: City-specific statistics are also available for researching, purchasing and spending online, as well as general online shopping behavior.

Business Credit Rating Details of the AOL Fourth Annual "Online Shopping Cities" Survey:

Moodys Credit Rating We're in the age of sophisticated online shoppers, who are also willing to take on more complex shopping tasks.

Credit Card With Bad Credit >75% have been shopping online for 3 years or more; 11% for 10 years or more.

Personal Credit Rating >65% have comparison shopped to find the best prices.

Unsecured Loan For Bad Credit >63% have tracked packages online.

Credit Rating Company >54% have used promotional codes or coupons when making a purchase online.

Canadian Credit Rating >One-third (33%) have consulted online reviews of products and retailers before purchasing, and one-fifth (20%) have written their own reviews online.

Credit Union Rating >One-third (34%) shop for luxury or big-tickets items online.>On average, shoppers are willing to spend about $1,060 on a single item they purchase online.

Corporate Credit Rating >For the first time, books (45%) and clothing (44%) will overtake music/videos (42%) as the most popular holiday gifts purchased online this year.

Credit Rating Fix The online shopping experience has improved and it better meets the needs of shoppers.

Bad Credit Loan Personal >52% of online shoppers plan do to even more shopping on the Internet this year because there are no closing hours (81%), there are less crowds (75%), and it's easier to research items (54%) and comparison shop (52%).

Credit How Improve Quickly >The overwhelming majority (86%) say the online shopping experience has improved over the past year. Of those, 66% cite the ability to research products/services across many different sites/stores, and 48% cite more brand and product selection online.

Fico Credit Rating >91% say the free shipping offers available online are very or somewhat important to them.

Improving Credit Rating The ability to easily research products and services online is a more important factor this holiday season.

Mortgage Credit Rating >Online shoppers say nearly half (46%) of their holiday purchases (online and offline) will be influenced by research they do online.

Average Credit Rating >60% say that during the holiday season, the ability to research online is more valuable than making purchases online.

Loan For People With Poor >Most (31%) describe themselves as researchers and comparison shoppers.

Bureau Credit Rating >While 85% say they make less impulse purchases when they shop online, nearly 40% still admit they are more of an impulse buyer during the holiday season vs. the rest of the year.

Find Credit Rating Methodology: This national survey was conducted from October 19 - October 31, 2005 through Digital Marketing Services, Inc. (DMS). A total of 6,239 Web users (approximately 200 from each of the top 30 DMAs) were interviewed, including both online browsers/purchasers and non-browsers/purchasers. The screening qualifications for this study were males and females aged 18 and above who research/browse or purchase products or services online at least once a month. The ranking for the top wired shopping cities was based on online browsers/purchasers and non-browsers/purchasers while all other survey questions were asked of only those who browse/purchase online.

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AOL(r) Shopping: AOL Shopping (http://www.aol.com/shopping or AOL Keyword: Shopping) is a premier shopping destination on the AOL(r) service and the AOL.com(r) website that offers shoppers an intuitive and comprehensive experience that makes online shopping easy. By working hand-in-hand with leading retail brands and harnessing the best available technology, AOL Shopping helps online shoppers make good purchase decisions quickly and easily. It's built around the way consumers shop online today - with distinct offerings for searchers, browsers and impulse buyers.

Credit Rating Uk About America Online, Inc.

Free Credit Rating Canada America Online, Inc. and its subsidiaries operate a leading network of Web brands and the largest Internet access subscription service in the United States. Brands include the AOL(r) service, the AOL.com(r) website, and the AIM(r), MapQuest(r), Moviefone(r), Netscape(r), CompuServe(r) and ICQ(r) services. America Online offers a range of digital services including the TotalTalk(r) voice service. The company also has operations in Canada and Europe. America Online, Inc. is based in Dulles, Virginia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.

Standard Poors Credit Rating Source: AOL

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