This year, holiday shoppers will rely on the web more than ever, according to a new National Retail Federation survey conducted by BIGresearch.

Nearly half (47.1 percent) of consumers say they will make at least one holiday purchase online, up from 36.0 percent three years ago, and most - 88.7 percent - also say they browse before going to stores to shop, reports DM News, citing the NRF 2006 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. Moreover, 28.9 percent of shoppers said they would do at least a quarter of their shopping online this year.

Shoppers use a variety of websites to begin their online research and compare products: Google.com (23.6 percent), Yahoo.com (7.2 percent), Amazon.com (5.5 percent) and eBay (3.7 percent) are popular starting points.

Electronics are the most popular searches, with 39.3 percent of online shoppers saying they have browsed for electronics online before buying in a store within the previous 90 days, followed by apparel (20.0 percent), appliances (19.6 percent) and home improvement items (18.0 percent).

Holiday shoppers are expected to spend, on average, $791.10 each this year.