DETROIT – This holiday season, shoppers will find there’s more to buying online than punching… DETROIT – This holiday season, shoppers will find there’s more to buying online than punching in your credit-card number and waiting for that new sweater to land on your doorstep.

Retailers are building connections between their Web sites and stores by pointing online customers to brick-and-mortar stores and giving offline customers more reasons to log on to their Web sites.

The connections come in the form of e-mail alerts about sales and inventory updates and coupons on Web sites. Some Web sites allow shoppers to buy or reserve an item online and pick it up at a store, often on the same day. Some have installed kiosks in stores for shoppers who want to browse the company’s Web site.

“Consumers want to be able to buy when they want, where they want and how they want,” said Craig Stevenson, marketing manager for IBM Corp.’s e-commerce products and services.

The new features have helped online shoppers like Cindy Endres, who has learned it takes time and sometimes a trip to a mall before she’s ready to buy.

“I like to see what’s out there personally. Sometimes when you look on a computer, it’s deceiving. I like to see, in a store, what colors are in style,” said Endres, 48, of Romeo, Mich.

Then she searches the Web for a deal. “It takes a lot of time. It’s not like wham, bam, thank you, ma’am. It really takes a lot of time if you want to save money,” Endres said.

While online shopping isn’t growing at record rates, retail analysts expect Internet buying to rise about 20 percent this year.

In an America Online survey of 6,250 Internet users, respondents plan to spend an average of $295 online during the holidays, a jump from $277 last year.

According to a National Retail Federation shopper survey, 38 percent of shoppers say they will buy holiday items online.

U.S. shoppers are expected to spend $21.6 billion online this holiday season, a 19 percent increase from 2003, JupiterResearch reports.

Another survey conducted by the retail federation shows that more shoppers plan to browse and comparison-shop online this year compared to last.

“When companies started to realize that their customers were shopping in their stores and on their Web sites, they started to realize that they better integrate the two,” said Ellen Tolley, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation.

But installing technology that connects stores and Web sites is a major investment, said Cass Johnson, who manages Web sites for Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Borders Group Inc.

One of Borders’ sites, www.bordersstores.com, allows customers to go online to reserve an item and pick it up at a store. A computer program takes inventory information from stores and loads it on the Web site, Johnson said.

“It’s critically important to give the customer an in to Borders, a way of accessing Borders, wherever they are. The store drives most of the sales for the corporation. Obviously we want to tie everything together,” Johnson said.

Outdoor retailer Recreational Equipment Inc., or REI, attracts online shoppers to stores through an in-store pick up program.

Online shoppers save on shipping charges, and the company gets more traffic and more sales.

About 35 percent of the company’s online purchases are picked up at a store, said REI spokesman Mike Foley. A third of those customers buy an average of $90 in additional merchandise while inside an REI, he said.

But the Kent, Wash.-based company also connects customers to the Web through kiosks inside stores.

“For years we’ve seen people come into the stores with printouts in hand,” Foley said. Occasionally REI staffers will tape a Web site description to a product’s display.

Kiosks and upgraded Web sites reflect retailers’, changing view of Web sites, said JupiterResearch retail analyst Patti Freeman Evans.

“At any given time, you will have different customers who want different kinds of experiences in their stores,” she said. “There’s not one size that fits all anywhere. Retailers are beginning to know that.”

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