Some 77 percent of consumer electronics (CE) purchases are influenced by internet research, according to research growing out of a collaboration between Yahoo and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

Of the total $32.5 billion spent on the CE products tracked in the study, online research - including search engines, manufacturers' and retail websites and shopping engines - influenced 77 percent, or $25.1 billion. Some 73 percent of consumers said comparing prices of a product found in different stores is easy to do online, and 64 percent said they prefer online because of the wider variety of products available for research; 45 percent of those who research online and purchase offline use a search engine during the information-gathering process.

The report, "Understanding How Consumers Use the Internet to Research and Shop for CE Products, conducted by Hall and Partners, explored five CE products: cell phones, computers, digital cameras, digital music players and televisions.

''Searchers,'' defined as those who use search to research CE goods, represent 47 percent of the offline and online purchasers surveyed. They are more educated about what they buy, increasingly likely to advocate brands by word-of-mouth and are often considered a resource of information by friends and family. They consider more brands and are 114 percent more likely to consider internet display advertising in their research process.

Though the internet plays a powerful research role, print media, family and friends, retail displays and other traditional sources also aid CE purchasers; on average, consumers use six different sources to guide their CE purchase decision.