It’s that time of the year when, if you’re like me, you keep waiting for the ringing doorbell to signal that the UPS, Postal Service, or FedEx delivery person is outside the door with presents. Or you’re frantically clicking the “tracking page” of the presents you purchased over a week ago and aren’t here yet because you accidentally chose “Ground” delivery instead of “Overnight” – only to find out they’re somewhere in Illinois and won’t be here until after you’ve left for the holidays.

A good chunk of us will buy at least some of our presents online - comScore’s most recent Holiday Shopping update predicts that the 2005 November/December “holiday shopping season” will exceed $19 billion - a 24% increase since 2004’s holiday season. I’ve purchased about half of the presents I’m giving online, up from a total of 2 presents purchased online last year.

But how (and why) do you buy presents online? According to a post yesterday over at Fast Company detailing a recent Shopzilla study online shopping might be to blame for all those cruddy gifts you get. The Shopzilla study states that “those who either “lack the talent or the patience” are being drawn to the Internet.”

I have to admit, I don’t think this applies to me - when I shop online for presents, I’m generally directed to the site by the person I’m purchasing the present for or because I have no other outlet to purchase the present at. Case in point: My father is fond of those “Beer of the Month” clubs, which I typically purchase online, because it’s easier to find his favorite club with Google than it is with the phone book. This also applies to hard-to-find tech toys, software, and camera equipment that I have no idea how to find offline.

Does the “impluse buy” or “ease of use” of online shopping apply to you when purchasing gifts for friends and family? Do they have any say? Or are you more likely to purchase something online because someone has sent you the link and you know they want the item? In addition, do you feel that you’re just as likely to get a crummy gift from an Internet savvy person or one who just can’t be bothered to go online to shop?