New numbers from BIGresearch shows how often consumer research products online before buying them in person or in a store, 87% of nearly 7,500 respondents said they did so occasionally to regularly. Of those who said they researched products online before buying them in the store:
58% made less than $50K per year
51% were female
59% were between the ages of 25 and 54
The survey also divided these respondents into two income brackets to profile which items were most frequently researched online, but purchased in person, by those making above and below $50K per year. Those in the higher income bracket researched and then bought electronics most often, followed by home improvement items and appliances. The other group reported electronics, apparel and medicines/vitamins/supplements as their top three products researched online, then purchased in person.
In both income groups, the top search engine used for product research was Google by a large margin, but WalMart made a surprising appearance in the top 5 websites used first among those who did their comparative shopping online before buying in the store.
Online sales are continuing to grow. Retailers cannot view online, as ancillary to the store, rather retailer websites must be viewed as extensions of the bricks and mortar as well as a concentrated shopping experience.
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