Google Checkout Makes It Easy to Shop for Your Sweetheart (or Sweethearts) This Valentine’s Day

Announcement
February 7, 2007

Finding the perfect Valentines Day gift for your sweetheart is hard enough, but what about looking for two? According to a recent survey commissioned by Google Checkout™ and conducted by Harris Interactive, 1 out of every 2 (52%) U.S. adult Valentine’s Day shoppers* will be buying gifts for more than one Valentine this year – for their spouses, for their parents and other family members, for their pets, and maybe even for multiple sweethearts.

What’s more, 43% of U.S. adults who plan to buy a gift for their significant other reported that they plan to buy him or her more than one, while 41% of U.S. online adults who typically buy at least one gift plan to visit more than one website in search of those gifts. With all these sweethearts to shop for, gifts to buy, and stores to visit, Google Checkout is making the process faster and easier.

Through February 15, first-time shoppers on Google Checkout will receive $10 off a one-time purchase of at least $10. This offer is being featured on a wide variety of Google Checkout’s thousands of merchant partners, including Buy.com, Zales, Jockey, Bluefly, Aeropostale, and new partner Blue Nile.

Buying with Google Checkout has never been easier. Google Checkout eliminates an average of 15 steps from the online checkout process, in many cases making checking out as simple as entering a single login – and helping the Casanovas out there save time and trouble when buying gifts for all their sweethearts.

So whether you still need to come up with another gift for your sweetheart (according to the survey, men are more likely to buy multiple gifts for their significant other than women are), or whether you need something cute for your furry friend (pets are expected to get more love than fathers and grandfathers), Google Checkout can help.

If you’d like to learn more about the Google Checkout Valentine’s Day promotion, or the ways that Checkout makes online shopping faster and more convenient, visit checkout.google.com.

Highlights From Survey Results:

Among U.S. adults who typically buy Valentine’s Day gifts:

  • 50% indicated that they purchase multiple Valentine’s Day gifts.
  • Although men and women (both 71%) are equally likely to typically buy at least one Valentine’s Day gift, women (56%) are more likely than men (44%) to buy multiple gifts.
  • 55% of men indicated that they plan to buy for spouse, compared with 44% of women.
  • These adults are more likely to buy Valentine’s Day gifts for their pets (6%) than their fathers (5%) or grandfathers (1%).
  • Women (83%) are more likely than men (74%) to indicate that they typically buy a Valentine’s Day gift for at least one family member.
  • 41% indicated that they plan to purchase from more than one store/website this Valentine’s Day.
  • 11% indicated that they typically spend $10 or less. On average, U.S. adults spend about $70 in total on Valentine’s Day gifts.

Among U.S. adults who typically buy Valentine’s Day gifts for a significant other:

  • Men (50%) are more likely than women (37%) to indicate typically buying multiple Valentine’s Day gifts for a significant other.

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Survey Methodology

*The survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Google from January 16 to 18, 2007 among 2,214 adults (aged 18 and over), of which 1,546 typically buy at least one Valentine’s Day gift (referred to as “Valentine’s Day shoppers). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the general population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. Where appropriate, figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, household income and hours per week spent online were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the online population.

With a pure probability sample of 1,546, one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- four percentage points. Sampling error for subsamples would be higher and would vary. However, that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and, therefore, no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

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Google and Google Checkout are registered trademarks of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

Contact:

Michael Kirkland
mkirkland@google.com
415.793.5571

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