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19 Percent of Shoppers Will Spend More on Valentine's Day Gifts this Year According to New Online Spending Index

The Index polls 1,200 consumers to measure projected online spending for the quarter and the influencing factors. According to the Q1 Index, consumers plan to spend an average of $259 online over the next 90 days, a 10 percent increase over Q1 2010.

"There will be a lot of retail love this Valentine's season," says Marwan Forzley, President and CEO of eBillme. "Retailers are coming off one of the best holiday shopping seasons in several years and it looks like the spending will continue for another quarter. Our Index paints a very optimistic picture for the eCommerce sector with increases in shoppers and sales projected for the quarter. It is clear that consumers are starting to spend again but we continue to see evidence of a shift in how they are spending their money. Credit card debt remains a big concern for many and frugality continues to be a theme at the checkout. 34 percent of respondents this quarter indicated they have used credit cards less often in favor of non-credit ways to pay. We expect to see this trend continue throughout 2011."

This quarter, respondents were also asked what they plan to purchase for Valentine's Day.

• 60 percent plan to purchase something other than chocolates or flowers this year.
• 18 percent plan to purchase a gift card for their Valentine.
• 47 percent of shoppers remain uncertain about what to purchase for Valentine's Day representing an opportunity for retailers to win these sales.

"We are very encouraged by eBillme's findings for this quarter," says Matthew Khalili, Online Marketing Manager, of pcRUSH.com. "We've seen that our customers have more confidence to buy but deals and best prices continue to be influencing factors in spending decisions. Valentine's Day has always been a big holiday for us as many people show their love with the gift of electronics like TV's, cell phones, cameras and more. And according to this outlook, more shoppers will be relying on the Internet for gift-giving this year so it's a great opportunity for online merchants to build on the momentum from the holiday season."

For more information or to receive the full findings from this quarter's Index, please contact Alicia Buonanno at Alicia@GregoryFCA.com or 610-228-2096.

About the Index

The Index is based on data collected from an online consumer survey deployed quarterly starting in August 2008, with a sample size of 1,209 respondents. The survey targeted US adults (age 18 +) and was based on representative proportions of gender, ethnicity and income as compared to the overall US online population. Overall margin of sampling error is ±2.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

The next Index will be released in April, 2011. Data from the Index will be posted on the eBillme website, http://www.ebillme.com/merchants/online-spending-index.

About eBillme

eBillme is the most secure way to pay online and the only online payment solution that extends the convenience of online banking to the merchant's checkout process. The service enhances security for online shoppers, and enables merchants to increase sales while reducing transaction costs. No financial data is exposed and the payment transaction is securely transferred from the customer's bank to the retailer's bank. Consumers can shop online, by catalog or through call centers, and pay for their purchases at their bank, credit union, or bill pay portal using the security and convenience of online banking or by paying the bill at over 75,000 walk-in locations. For more information, please visit www.eBillme.com, eBillme's Online Debt-Free Shopping Mall or the eBillme blog.

Press contact:
Gregory FCA
Alicia Buonanno, 610-228-2096
Account Supervisor
610-659-9404 (mobile)
or
Company contact:
eBillme
Samer Forzley, 613-270-8755, ext. 3400
Vice President of Marketing
@sforzley