Advertising.com's 2006 online holiday shopping survey points to a busy holiday online-shopping season - with some good news for bricks and mortar retailers, too.

Well over half of the Advertising.com holiday-survey respondents plan to spend as much or more than they spent online during the 2005 holiday season. They also plan to go online early, with nearly a third of respondents planning to begin their online shopping before Thanksgiving.

The top three reasons that consumers reported for going online during the holiday season are generating gift ideas, comparing product features and prices, and having convenient access to shopping from home.

However, holiday shoppers don't always purchase online immediately, according to the survey. Respondents on average research products for up to a month before buying a product; and after researching products online, 60 percent still prefer to buy offline.

"The survey results point to several clear trends: consumers value the ease and incentives offered through online shopping and intend to spend more online as a result - starting their online activities early in the season," said Mollie Spilman, chief sales and marketing officer at Advertising.com.

"Advertisers can take their cues directly from these results to align and track their marketing programs based on key online shopping patterns and motivators."

The Advertising.com survey was hosted by online market research company InsightExpress.