Okay, October is outa here, so that means the holidays are closer than ever.

Are you read?

Do you have your shopping even started yet?

Have you at least started hinting around about that special necklace, ring, bracelet or all three you hope to find wrapped up in one of this tiny boxes this year?

As someone who surfs the net looking at wonderful jewelry all the time as well as other fashion items, I can saw that I am definitely influenced by what I see and read on line. I read other fashion blogs, check out lots of web stores, and do all kinds of window shopping through my computer screen.

Needless to say, I'm not the only one doing this. Here's an article from JCK that confirms this, "Internet to influence nearly 30% of holiday purchases:"

From browsing to buying, the Internet will play a larger role than ever in holiday shopping this year, according to a new survey conducted for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch. Shoppers, who are expected to spend $791.10 each this year on holiday merchandise, said they will use the Internet for 29 percent of their shopping.

"While many shoppers plan to purchase holiday gifts online this year, others are using the Internet to look for gift ideas, research products and compare prices before heading to the store," said Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, the online retail division of NRF. "Retailers' ongoing efforts to make their stores and Web sites work hand-in-hand will create more sales and happier customers."

Though nearly half (47.1%) of consumers plan to make at least one holiday purchase online this year, up from 36 percent three years ago, many will also use the Internet to browse before heading to stores to buy. According to the survey, most consumers (88.7%) regularly or occasionally examine products on the Internet before buying in a store.

Nearly 40 percent of online shoppers said they have browsed for electronics online before buying in a store within the last 90 days. Other popular merchandise that shoppers have recently studied online before buying in a store is apparel (20.0%), appliances (19.6%) and home improvement items (18.0%). Consumers also said they have researched medicines, vitamins and supplements (16.2%), and shoes (16.1%) online before purchasing in a store.