This puts significant pressure on brands already facing constant challenges in today's competitive retail climate, Onestop Internet says.

"We always hear about Amazon being a threat to retailers like Wal-Mart, but we rarely discuss the web giant as a viable competitor to individual fashion brands," said Michael Wang, president and CEO of Onestop. "We are advising our portfolio of premium apparel brands to take note and adjust their holiday strategies accordingly."

Per the survey results, social media should play a key role in apparel brands' digital strategies heading into holiday. More than half (55 percent) of respondents who plan to purchase apparel online this holiday season said they would be much more likely to purchase apparel if they saw a discount promoted on social media.

Online shopping will play a key role in retail sales, in large part because of the transparency it provides shoppers. Forty-four percent of shoppers who prefer to buy apparel online value the ability to compare prices.

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