Online retailers have plenty to be joyous about this holiday season as new research shows companies are adjusting their holiday plans based on expected growth and strong demand from holiday shoppers. According to Shop.org's eHoliday survey conducted by BIGresearch, nearly seven in 10 (68.0 percent) retailers say they expect their company's online sales to grow at least 15 percent or more compared to last holiday season, up from the 63.8 percent who had those expectations last year. The survey is supported by new data from the National Retail Federation, which found the average shopper plans to do about 36.0 percent of their holiday shopping online, up from 32.7 percent last year.

One of consumers' most anticipated and favorite holiday promotions, free shipping offers, will be hard to miss this holiday season as nine in 10 online retailers (92.5 percent) say they plan on offering the service at some point, up from 84.8 percent in 2010. Eager shoppers can also expect these offers to start soon, as nearly one-third (31.4 percent) of those surveyed say their free shipping offers would start earlier in the season compared to last year. Additionally, 56.3 percent say their budget for free shipping promotions specifically is somewhat or significantly higher than last year.

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