Outdoor USA Magazine

According to a recently released study by Baynote, 80% of 1,000 holiday shoppers said that personal connections on Facebook or other social networks did not influence their shopping decisions. In fact, while Amazon's Price Check app caused a stir for encouraging shoppers to try out product in-store and then buy it at a discount online, Baynote found that the opposite is usually the case. Of the surveyed customers, 93% reported researching product online and then purchasing it in a physical store.

The study reports that email is the most effective way to communicate promotions, with 62.5% of respondents saying that they find it most useful compared to direct mail, search engine results and daily deals. View the whole 2011 holiday shopping survey at Baynote's website here by providing your name and email address.