• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 8, 2005

Consumers Research Online, Then Go Shopping

BIGResearch, on its' blog site "whencustomerstalk.blogspot.com," comments that most retail organizations are focused on logistics and the supply side, not the demand side. The summary goes on to say, "today's customer is looked at as a number on a spreadsheet or a data point in a transaction file that has all kinds of erroneous information attached to it. Most of what is masquerading as customer insights is data processing. Software, credit card files, and technology have become surrogates for the customer in today's consumer insight world."

Joe Pilotta, PhD, BIGresearch, says "Most retailers have focused on their in-store experience, but for many consumers online research is replacing the store as a way of gathering information on products and pricing before purchasing at the store level. The new consumer & is more knowledgeable and wants to have the option of purchasing goods and services where they want, when they want. Retailers who focus only on in-store shopping risk loosing incremental sales opportunities as both men and women are equally engaged in this dynamic."

Key findings from the survey include:

• 74% of men and 74% of women regularly or occasionally said they research one or more products online before purchasing in a store.
• For men, 79.8% said they research electronics before buying in-store, making it the #1 category.
• For women, 70.8% research travel online before, making it the #1 category.
• Housing has the youngest average age, 40.3 years, for those who research online.
• Travel has the oldest average age of online researchers at 44.1 years.

For income groups the top categories researched online before purchasing:

• Less than $15,000 Food
• $25,000 - $34,999 Electronics
• $50,000 - $74,999 Housing
• $100,000 + Financial Services

More findings include:

• The top 2 categories 18-24 year olds research online before purchasing are shoes and apparel.
• African Americans research shoes online more than any other category.
• Hispanics research apparel online more than any other category.
• Whites research travel online more than any other category.

Complimentary findings are available at www.bigresearch.com.