ChannelAdvisors’ 2010 Consumer Shopping Habits Survey is out just in time for the holiday season. The free report provides valuable insights for anyone in the ecommerce, B2C space.

So, what jumped out at me?

Well, it wasn’t so much that 59% of those surveyed start their gift search at a search engine–with 28% heading straight to a marketplace such as eBay or Amazon–but what did intrigue me were the starts on just how inconsequential brand recognition is.

A surprising 67% said they would purchase an identical product from an unknown website if the retailer offered a better value. Better value? What do they mean by that?

Well, it appears low pricing and free shipping trump all:

Also of significance? Of the 92% of consumers that say they read product reviews, only 3% say they weren’t swayed by such reviews. That means a staggering 83% of ALL consumers are influenced by online reviews.

So, want to improve your sales this holiday season? If you’re a retailer, make sure you have product reviews, low pricing, and free shipping. If you’re a trying to improve the sales of your products on a merchant’s web site, you’d better make sure you’re receiving positive reviews!