Commentary

Just an Online Minute... Search Helps Satisfaction

If you’re still on the fence about using search engines for ad purposes, here’s a bit of research you might find useful. Earlier this week, ForeSee Results released a study showing that shoppers who use shopping search engines to compare prices, products and stores are highly satisfied online shoppers.

The survey, conducted live on DealTime.com, found that online shoppers who use shopping search engines to compare prices are more satisfied with their buying experience, representing a 22% improvement in satisfaction over those who don't. Users of shopping search for the purpose of comparing prices were also found to be 24% more likely to shop online in the next two months and 26% more likely to recommend online shopping to others.

"Our research demonstrates that the use of shopping search engines like DealTime can have a significant positive impact on a consumer's experience of online shopping," said Larry Freed, President and CEO of ForeSee Results. "Consumers clearly grasp the advantages of shopping search, but merchants reap great benefits as well. Shopping search engines provide them with a large quantity of qualified shoppers who turn into highly satisfied online buyers that are likely to return again and again."

The study found that online shoppers use shopping search because it empowers them to do the following:

  • Compare prices quickly: 73%
  • Compare products: 54%
  • Find stores selling the product they are looking for: 45%
  • Lower the risk of making a bad purchase: 28%
  • Find most popular products: 27%
  • Narrow product choices: 25%
  • Compare the reputations of online stores: 25%

    In addition, more than 50% of shoppers surveyed said that shopping search engines help them save time and save money (54% and 52%, respectively).

    "Shopping search engines will continue to provide a significant value to the consumers participating in online shopping," continued Freed. "Consumers reward organizations that provide a high level of satisfaction with their future purchasing activity and will leverage the immense referral power of the web. Shopping search engines like DealTime will play a critical role in the continuing evolution and improvement of the online shopping industry."

    Bottom line? If your client doesn’t have a search engine presence, perhaps you should convince them to give it a try.

  • Next story loading loading..