Microsoft is gearing up to raise the cash incentives it offers online shoppers via Bing cashback during the back-to-school season. The Redmond company noted that, come August 10, 2009, customers that would use Bing in order to search for and then buy select back-to-school items would be able to enjoy as much as double the normal cashback. Via Bing Shopping, Microsoft is ready to pay anywhere from 10% to 25% out of the price of each product bought through its search engine that comes from vendors that participate in Bing cashback promotions.

“Many people may not realize that some of the best deals are online – and it’s not just about the savings, you’re also getting a discount on time,” revealed Bridget Tate, Bing shopping product manager. “Every mouse click can save valuable minutes normally spent wandering through stores. It’s a great way to help get the most out of those precious last days of summer with the kids.”

According to statistics made available by a study from Impulse Research 2009, commissioned by Bing Shopping, over half of the 1,046 participants indicated that they would not shop for back-to-school supplies online. At the same time, a survey put together by Ipsos 2009, also commissioned by Microsoft, revealed that no less than 75% out of the 1,156 participants would still use a search engine to make their product purchase decisions. In this context, the additional Bing cashback incentives could just work to convince no less than 70% of consumers to buy more, as they agreed that significant discounts larger than 30% could not be turned down.

“This year, many shoppers will make major purchasing trade-offs in order to stretch their dollar, but 56 percent of consumers surveyed say they don’t plan to shop on the Internet,” Tate added. “These consumers may be overlooking big savings by not shopping online. For example, Bing shopping is offering even more cash back from hundreds of retailers on millions of products this August to help consumers save on important back-to-school items.”