Offline Sales Boosted by Online Research says Report
October 30th, 2006 by pamela
Another report has shown that both online and offline sales are affected by the influence of the internet, with a new study by the Consumer Electronics Association and Yahoo showing that 77% of electronics purchases are researched online before customers buy on the high street.
Researching the purchasing habits for cell phones, computers, digital cameras, mp3 players and televisions, the US study showed that online research time increased in line with product prices, with the most expensive products prompting the most research time prior to purchase.
$32 billion of electronics purchases were measured in the survey, and showed that a staggering $25 billion of offline sales was influenced by online research, informing 77% of overall purchases.
It is bizarre to consider that most of the sales started online finished on the high street, and while this backs up prior research to a degree, it is the amount of offline sales conducted in light of online research which is interesting.
73% of those surveyed said that they preferred to compare prices online as it was easier than offline, and gave fast access to a wide range of products.
Most of those consumers who then went on to buy offline did so for a variety of reasons including trust, security, brand loyalty, avoidance of waiting for delivery and the ability to see and touch the items when buying an expensive product.
Posted in Yahoo!, Stats & Research |
