Online Research Leads to Offline Profits [7/28/2008]

At a recent Internet Retailer Conference in Chicago, in a session named “What’s that shopper worth?” industry insiders discussed data from a Nielsen Online survey that dealt with how shoppers made their purchasing decisions in two categories: consumer electronics and pet food.

Those who bought consumer electronics were defined as Internet shoppers who had made an online electronics purchase within the previous 60 days. Of these purchasers, most cited price as a major reason for shopping online (68% said they got a better deal online). Exactly half said it was easier to comparison shop online. A tad under half (45%) said home delivery was more convenient for them than making a store purchase.

Participants were allowed to select more than one answer.

The research proved illuminating on several levels. It revealed that shoppers looked at several variables when shopping online. In this particular case, variables like shipping costs, delivery time and higher online prices all factored into the consumer’s decision whether to purchase online or offline.

In the case of pet food purchasing, the vast majority – 91% -- ultimately chose to purchase their pet food in a store. Compare this to only 59% of consumer electronics shoppers who made the decision to purchase from a store.

Also in the consumer electronics category, the Nielsen data revealed a vast difference in the research activities of online versus offline shoppers. Almost seventy percent of online shoppers (68%) admitted to visiting the sites of retailers during their research. Only 38% of those who eventually bought offline did so.

On the flip side, just over a quarter (26%) of online shoppers bothered to visit a local store to physically evaluate or look at a product. Over half (55%) of those who made an in-store purchase did so.

What can Internet marketers glean from all of this data? The marrying of an online merchant’s online and offline methods helps consumers to make the best decision for them. For example, a brick-and-mortar store allows consumers to actually see, touch and feel the product – providing them a way to physically evaluate the product, so to speak. Other purchasing factors are easily gleaned online, e.g., determining shipping costs and delivery time.

Despite some obvious differences, the Nielsen research did show some similarities and overlap. For example, 64% who actually went to a local store to evaluate a product also did some web research. Half of those who did web research also trekked to a brick-and-mortar store.

Overall, consumers like the vast amount of information provided to make buying decisions. Almost sixty percent (58%) who purchased consumer electronics said they choose the web over any other research mechanism when it came to finding out information before making a purchase – if they were given just one way to choose.

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