Women are ready to start holiday shopping - 60 percent of them say so, according to a BizRate Research study conducted for Shopzilla in September - whereas only 42 percent of men report such an inclination. Moreover, compared to women, men are more likely to feel aggravated or frustrated (17 percent vs. 8 percent) and befuddled or confused (8 percent vs. 3 percent) when thinking about holiday gift buying. Of those surveyed, 86 percent have purchased gifts online in the past, while 30 percent of people make most of their purchases online.

Women typically identify more with Santa Claus (55 percent) than do men (46 percent), who are more likely to identify with the Grinch (9 percent) and Ebenezer Scrooge (9 percent) than are women (5 percent and 3 percent, respectively).

Some 40 percent of shoppers said they would make their purchases online to avoid driving to the malls. In online shopping, 68 percent of purchases are made by females, up 4 percent from 2004.

Most respondents (82 percent) shop online to save time and to make their purchases at any hour of the night. The survey showed 71 percent do so to avoid large crowds and 52 percent shop online to get the best deals.