Some interesting stats from iCrossing and Harris Interactive’s study of US adult search patterns.

• 93% of all online adults have at least three years of Internet experience.
• Over half (53%) of all U.S. adults who are online use search engines most or every time they are online.
• The vast majority of search engine users (88%) say they use search engines to research specific topics.
• 51% of online adults in the U.S. use search engines for shopping.
• Of 1,047 adults using search engines for shopping, 80% use it to compare prices.
• 56% of online adults do not know the difference between natural search engine results and paid search listings.

Marketing Vox has a good summary of the study.