2010 Social Shopping Study Reveals Changes in Consumers? Online
Shopping Habits and Usage of Customer Reviews
Consumers Prefer to Conduct Product Research Online vs.
Speak to
Store Associates; Few and Lack of Negative Reviews Degrade
Consumer Trust
CHICAGO & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The e-tailing
group and PowerReviews today release the findings of the 2010
Social Shopping Study, which surveyed over 1,000 consumers who
shop
at least 4 times per year and spend $250 or more annually shopping
online, to assess their motivations and preferences regarding
online
product research and customer reviews. In addition to uncovering
current
behaviors, the survey reveals how online shopping has changed in
the
past few years, building upon, and contrasting with, the e-tailing
group/PowerReviews 2007 Social Shopping Study.
?These heightened consumer demands
must be met with comprehensive product and category content to
ensure
elevated conversion rates and return visits.?
The study focused on two key areas: how, when and why consumers
are
conducting online product research as well as their behaviors and
expectations related to customer reviews.
Results indicated that online research remains central to consumer
shopping behavior, with 50 percent of respondents reporting that
they
conduct research online for at least half of the purchases made
(compared to 54 percent in 2007). A polarization of research style
was
uncovered with consumers being either light or heavy researchers
(29
percent conduct just a few hours of research prior to making a
purchase
decision while 60 percent conduct research for a week or more).
Very few
consumers (11 percent) fall in between, and conduct research for
just a
day.
The study also found that people strongly prefer to do their own
research online versus speaking to a knowledgeable sales associate
in-store. According to respondents, online research is preferred
for
three reasons: its ability to save time (79 percent report saving
somewhat to much more time doing their own online research),
increase
confidence (83 percent are somewhat to much more confident about
making
a purchase decision when doing their own research) and provide
credible
information (82 percent are somewhat or very satisfied with
product
information available online).
When surveyed about where consumers are doing research online, the
study
found that:
-
The majority (57 percent) of shoppers begin their online
research with
a search engine
-
The top three places consumers named for finding information
online
when researching products were retailer sites (65 percent),
brand
sites (58 percent) and Amazon.com (33 percent)
-
Social Media sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) ranked as the place
where
consumers were least likely (6 percent) to research
?Whereas once online product research was left to the technology
savvy
looking to make a major purchase, it is now part of the mainstream
shopping experience for all product categories as consumers have
taken
control powering their own product research,? explains Lauren
Freedman,
president of the e-tailing group. ?These heightened consumer
demands
must be met with comprehensive product and category content to
ensure
elevated conversion rates and return visits.?
When surveyed about the tools available for online research,
customer
reviews were ranked as the #1 social media tool having a positive
to
significant impact on buying behavior. User-generated reviews were
also
revealed as the most important capability for retailers to have on
their
website, beating out customer service information and buying
guides/expert opinions.
Shoppers continue to consistently read reviews always or most of
the
time before making a purchase decision (64 percent in 2010 versus
65
percent in 2007). Though usage remains consistent, some changes in
the
ways consumers are using and reacting to reviews were found:
-
Shoppers today are spending more time reading reviews before
making
purchasing decisions. 64 percent take ten minutes or more (as
compared
to 50 percent in 2007) and 33 percent take one half hour or more
(as
compared to 18 percent in 2007).
-
Consumers today are also reading more customer reviews in order
to be
confident in judging a product. 39 percent read eight or more
reviews
(as compared with 22 percent in 2007) and 12 percent read 16 or
more
reviews (as compared with 5 percent in 2007).
-
The top factors that degrade
trust
in product reviews are not enough reviews (50 percent of
respondents
say this degrades trust), doubt that they are written by real
customers (39 percent) and no or limited availability of
negative
reviews (38 percent)
-
Following poor product content (72 percent), lack of customer
reviews
(49 percent) was ranked as the number one reason a consumer
would
leave a site when conducting product research.
?The findings of the 2010 Social Shopping Survey validate what we
are
hearing from retailers and brands ? that customer reviews have
become a
critical piece of the marketing puzzle, based not only on consumer
demand but also on the sales they deliver,? said Pehr Luedtke, CEO
of
PowerReviews. ?The next step for retailers is to now find new ways
to
maximize the impact and reach of these reviews ? such as
optimizing them
for search engines through products like our In-Line SEO
solution.?
PowerReviews and the e-tailing group also conducted research
around how
consumers are using social media to shop and interact with brands
and
retailers online. This information will be released in the coming
weeks.
About the e-tailing group
The e-tailing group, inc. serves as the multi-channel merchant?s
eye,
bringing a merchant?s sensibility to evolving the multi-channel
shopping
experience. A Chicago-based consultancy, they provide practical
strategic perspectives and actionable merchandising solutions to
merchants selling online as well as to enabling technology firms.
For
more background about this research study or additional
information on
the e-tailing group, inc. please contact Lauren Freedman at LF@e-tailing.com
or visit the e-tailing group website www.e-tailing.com.
About PowerReviews
PowerReviews is the leading provider of customer reviews and
social
commerce solutions to retailers and brands. The company's
innovative
tag-based approach to collecting, organizing, structuring and
analyzing
user-generated content significantly boosts product sales and
customer
engagement. Recognized as the customer reviews Solution Leader in
the
Internet Retailer Top 500 survey, PowerReviews works with over 850
retailers and brands on over 2700 websites, including Staples,
Drugstore.com, Gardener?s Supply, Diapers.com, Callaway and
Jockey. In
addition to its Enterprise solution, PowerReviews offers an
on-demand
solution for small- and medium-sized businesses called
PowerReviews
Express (www.powerreviewsexpress.com).
PowerReviews also operates the leading reviews and recommendation
site
for consumers, Buzzillions.com (www.buzzillions.com).
PowerReviews blog is at www.blogs.powerreviews.com.
the e-tailing group
Lauren Freedman, 773-975-7280
President
lf@e-tailing.comor
TidalWave
PR for PowerReviews
Lisa Tarter, 415-203-2462
lisa@tidalwavepr.comRead
more