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Amazon remains dominant in the online retail industry, but if you own a retail establishment, don’t despair: Most online shoppers prefer to shop at brick-and-mortar stores.

That’s according to a survey released last week by NPR and the Marist Institute for Public Opinion that looked at everything from how much consumers trust online companies to what they are buying.

“Americans are online shoppers,” Marist concludes, “but, that doesn’t mean they are turned off by the in-store experience.”  In fact, 56 percent of respondents preferred a store compared to only 37 percent who prefer to buy online.

So why is e-tail such big business? According to the survey, people listed the most important factor as:

  • the speed in which they need an item, cited by 39 percent
  • difficulty in getting to the store, 23 percent
  • the price of an item, 23 percent
  • shipping rates, 9 percent; or
  • availability of items, 5 percent.

Online shoppers do like some things about online shopping, including the lack of lines and people (78 percent), availability of product reviews by other shoppers (78 percent), and the cheaper prices (76 percent). However, fewer online consumers consider these to be major factors in their decision.

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