Study: Many shoppers research online, shop offline

Beverly, Mass. ( July 27, 2010 ) Research released Tuesday by Searchandise Commerce revealed that two-thirds of consumers launch their shopping online, and half convert offline. The study, conducted by comScore and co-sponsored by iProspect, also found that the path to purchase often starts with a combination of search engine and site search on retail websites for price, brand and feature information, with shoppers consulting an average of 4.1 information sources during the process.

“We’ve witnessed retailers getting better at providing a robust on-site search experience. It makes sense that consumers have come to rely upon the rich information provided by retail sites and that marketers embrace this new reality,” said John Federman, president and CEO of Searchandise Commerce.

Federman added that the survey was conducted to help “better understand how retail site search worked as a complement to search engines.”

Key findings of the study included: Most shoppers are looking for less clutter on retail websites (eliminate the pop-ups, they say) and clearly listed pricing and product information, as well as the use of product comparison tools. 

Ninety-four percent of the shoppers surveyed click between one and 10 products on a site, and from there, look for price, product features and preferred brands as key differentiators.

Products appearing in the top section of a site search results page, or within the first 10 – 15 results after using the site search box, carry additional weight for shoppers. Those products were identified by shoppers as best meeting their needs, of highest quality, and most relevant to their search.

With regard to the path to purchase, one in five shoppers starts at a retail site (the most frequent starting point among all retail shoppers); one in 10 starts at a physical store. Close behind retail websites as a starting point for shoppers are search engines, a significant driver of shoppers to retail websites (as are manufacturer websites).

Just 3% starts their search by consulting a blog or a social networking site.

Shoppers who begin their search on retail sites (19%) either purchase directly on the retail site or navigate to a manufacturer site for further details, then either visit a search engine or physical store. Of this group, nearly half buy in the physical store, while 40% transact online.

Similarly, when the process begins by visiting a search engine (18%), 37% move on to a retail site as their next step. Nearly half of the consumer electronics shoppers end up purchasing on the retail site, as do one-third of the computer buyers.