Eccomplished Research Highlights Graphical summaries of the key findings of research into the buying habits of over 2,000 online consumers.
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54%
31%
23%
18%
15%
14%
14%
11%
9%
7%
6%
5%
2%
7%
VISITED A MARKETPLACE WEBSITE
READ PRODUCT REVIEWS ONLINE
FRIENDS/FAMILY
READ COMMENTS ON AN ONLINE ARTICLE
LOOKED AT PRODUCT IN SHOP
VISITED COMPARISON WEBSITE
READ AN ARTICLE ONLINE
VIEWED A VIDEO OF THE PRODUCT
TRIED PRODUCT IN A SHOP
SEARCHED ONLINE USING A MOBILE
TAKEN ADVICE FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
SALES PERSON IN A SHOP
SALES PERSON OVER THE PHONE
ANYTHING ELSE
Purchase Influencers and Site Persuaders (all retail categories)
Through this research, key Purchase Influencers have been established across a wide variety of retail categories – those factors which influence the decision to buy. Also, reasons for making a purchase from type of site most frequently purchased from (Site Persuaders) have also been identified. These charts show the overall scores across categories.
Which of the following have you done to help you make a purchase?
Purchase InfluencersRanked in order of frequency
2.2 chosen on
average
What has persuaded you to make a purchase from [type of site]?
Site PersuadersRanked in order of frequency
54%
31%
23%
18%
15%
14%
14%
11%
9%
7%
6%
5%
2%
7%
LOWEST PRICE
PRODUCT WAS IN STOCK
CONVENIENT DELIVERY
ATTRACTIVE PROMOTIONS
RATINGS AND REVIEWS
FAMILY/ FRIEND RECOMMEDATION
RECOMMENDED BY TRUSTED COMPANY
SOCIAL NETWORK RECOMMENDATION
RECOMMENDED FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE
ANYTHING ELSE
2.1 chosen on
average
Base: Online purchasers (unweighted sample 1,912)Source: Data collection by SSI. Nationally Representative survey of 2000 UK adults. Fieldwork period: 4th-6th January 2012.
On average, our online purchasers cited 2.2 Purchase Influencers and 2.1 Site Persuaders, although this varied by category (see Customer Journey section) as did the relative importance of individual Influencers and Persuaders.
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54%
31%
23%
18%
15%
14%
14%
11%
9%
7%
6%
5%
2%
7%
VISITED A MARKETPLACE WEBSITE
READ PRODUCT REVIEWS ONLINE
FRIENDS/FAMILY
READ COMMENTS ON AN ONLINE ARTICLE
LOOKED AT PRODUCT IN SHOP
VISITED COMPARISON WEBSITE
READ AN ARTICLE ONLINE
VIEWED A VIDEO OF THE PRODUCT
TRIED PRODUCT IN A SHOP
SEARCHED ONLINE USING A MOBILE
TAKEN ADVICE FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
SALES PERSON IN A SHOP
SALES PERSON OVER THE PHONE
ANYTHING ELSE
39%35%
10%
2%
7%
COMPLETE AN ONLINE RATING OR REVIEW
Which, if any, of the following would you be likely to do after you have made an online purchase?
MAKE RECOMMEN-DATION TO FRIENDS/FAMILY
“LIKE” OR “FOLLOW” THE PRODUCT OR BRAND ON A SOCIAL NETWORK
OTHER, PLEASE TELL US
NONE OF THE ABOVE
38%
1%
Purchase Influencers: Online recommendation now more important than traditional w-o-m?
Which of the following have you done to help you make a purchase?
7%
Base: Online purchasers (unweighted sample 1,912) Source: Data collection by SSI. Nationally Representative survey of 2000 UK adults. Fieldwork period: 4th-6th January 2012.
Looking first at Purchase Influencers, overall, just under a quarter (23%) of online purchasers claimed they talked to friends and family in order to help them make a purchase, yet significantly more – nearly a third (31%) – cited having read product reviews or endorsements online. So the opinion of a stranger would appear to be more useful than that of a friend or family member when making an online purchase.
And the importance of peer-to-peer word of mouth is compounded further by more shoppers citing having read comments on an online article (18%) than reading an article itself (14%) to help them make a purchase decision. And providing further evidence of the power of ratings and reviews, four in ten (39%) of our shoppers claimed they would be likely to complete an online rating or review after making an online purchase, which is more than would make a recommendation to friends/family (35%)
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54%
31%
23%
18%
15%
14%
14%
11%
9%
7%
6%
5%
2%
7%
VISITED A MARKETPLACE WEBSITE
READ PRODUCT REVIEWS ONLINE
FRIENDS/FAMILY
READ COMMENTS ON AN ONLINE ARTICLE
LOOKED AT PRODUCT IN SHOP
VISITED COMPARISON WEBSITE
READ AN ARTICLE ONLINE
VIEWED A VIDEO OF THE PRODUCT
TRIED PRODUCT IN A SHOP
SEARCHED ONLINE USING A MOBILE
TAKEN ADVICE FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
SALES PERSON IN A SHOP
SALES PERSON OVER THE PHONE
ANYTHING ELSE
Purchase Influencers: Social media failing to meet its potential?
Which of the following have you done to help you make a purchase?
39%35%
10%
2%
7%
COMPLETE AN ONLINE RATING OR REVIEW
Base: Online purchasers (unweighted sample 1,912) Source: Data collection by SSI. Nationally Representative survey of 2000 UK adults. Fieldwork period: 4th-6th January 2012.
Which, if any, of the following would you be likely to do after you have made an online purchase?
MAKE RECOMMEN-DATION TO FRIENDS/FAMILY
“LIKE” OR “FOLLOW” THE PRODUCT OR BRAND ON A SOCIAL NETWORK
OTHER, PLEASE TELL US
NONE OF THE ABOVE
Social media sites such as Facebook would seem to be the ideal place to solicit recommendation on products and services. However, the survey revealed that just 6% of shoppers took advice from friends and family on social media sites, compared to the 31% who read product reviews and endorsements and the 18% who read comments on online articles. True, social is more important to the younger generation – the 6% rises to 11% for 18-34s – but this is still way down on the apparent importance of recommendation from trusted strangers. Social also fails to persuade to buy, with just 1% of our shoppers claiming a recommendation through a social network persuaded them to buy (see Appendix, Q4). And having completed a purchase, just 10% of our shoppers claimed they would be likely to 'like' or 'follow' the product or brand on a social network.
38%
1%
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60%LOWEST PRICE
PRODUCT IN STOCK
CONVENIENT DELIVERY
PROMOTIONS
RATINGS & REVIEWS
FAMILY/FRIEND RECOMMENDATION
COMPANY RECOMMENDATION
SOCIAL MEDIA RECOMMENDATION
RECOMMENDATION ELSEWHERE
ANYTHING ELSE
Purchase Influencers: 'Normal' hygiene factors prevail online
What has persuaded you to make a purchase from [type of site]?
Base: Online purchasers (unweighted sample 1,912) Source: Data collection by SSI. Nationally Representative survey of 2000 UK adults. Fieldwork period: 4th-6th January 2012.
Explanations for the dominance of marketplaces like Amazon might be their familiarity, trust and recommendation engines. However, when our shoppers were asked what persuaded them to purchase from a particular place, they were much more likely to claim price (60%), promotion (28%), having products in stock (39%) and convenient delivery options (37%).
Beyond these hygiene factors, excellent ratings and reviews of the product was next most important at persuading to buy (22%), much more so than recommendation – be that from friends/family (8%), a trusted company (4%) or social network (1%).
39%
37%
28%
22%
8%
4%
1%
0%
8%
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15%PRODUCT IN SHOP
SALESPERSON IN SHOP
SALESPERSON OVER PHONE
The high street has some catching up to do
Which of the following have you done to help you make a purchase?
MARKETPLACE
Base: Online purchasers (unweighted sample 1,912) Source: Data collection by SSI. Nationally Representative survey of 2000 UK adults. Fieldwork period: 4th-6th January 2012.
From which type of site do you most often purchase [category]?
HIGH ST SITE PRODUCT OWNER AUCTION SITE COMPARISON
High street retailers accounted for 22% of the online purchases among those shoppers surveyed. A good score when compared to brand owners sites (9%) and auctions (8%). However, marketplaces such as Amazon are far and away the most common place to conduct online purchases, accounting for 57%, more than double that of the high street. The high street is stronger for fashion and shoe purchase but has some way to go in other areas such as books and entertainment. It is safe to assume the majority of online purchases start and end online, but for some of our shoppers (15%), looking at the product in a shop helped them to make a purchase, particularly true for electronics, heath/beauty and toys. However, here again the High Street lets itself down in terms of service, with just 5% of shoppers claiming to have talked to a salesperson in a shop, and 2% talking to a salesperson over the phone.
1%3%
5%
2%
COUPON SITE
8%9%
22%
57%
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