US Buys into Online Shopping

08/16/2004

Researching and buying products online is becoming ever more popular among US adults.

The Dieringer Research Group (DRG) surveyed 3,000 US adults in June to ascertain their online shopping habits. DRG concludes that growth in consumer confidence and of the economy in general has resulted in a majority of US adults using the Internet for shopping. Additionally, online product research, even for products not necessarily eventually purchased online, is becoming increasingly popular. DRG finds exactly 114.1 million adults have conducted product research online.

DRG determined that almost as many US adults research products online before purchasing as those who do the same from mail order catalogs, direct mail and telemarketing combined. Online research decisively trails all offline research, which includes the methods above as well as activities like in-store research or research in periodicals.

Interestingly, about 60% of respondents said that their opinions of brands have changed as a result of online research. But online research, as well as online shopping, have other benefits, as an Ipsos-Reid/Jupiter Research study conducted during the 2003 holiday season shows. US consumers who buy online can point to a variety of reasons why shopping on the Net is superior to other forms, including better time management, avoiding crowds, better prices and easier product searching.

Source of Article: eMarketer

Date of Article: August 5, 2004