Consumers searching online for televisions and digital cameras spend 10 percent more money when making their purchases in stores, compared to those who did not search online, according to new research from Yahoo and ChannelForce, a training and merchandising consulting company.
They looked at consumers buying electronics offline and found the majority of them researched products online before making in-store purchases. Online research is helping consumers make key purchasing decisions before they enter a store, the study found.
The survey was conducted between February and March 2007 through in-person interviews at Best Buy, Circuit City, Fry’s and Target stores.
The 1,100 people interviewed included shoppers (those who shopped for products but did not purchase during the store visit) and purchasers (people who purchased during the store visit).
They were asked questions about how much education they had on their desired products when they walked into the store, where and how they researched the products and the key sources that persuaded them to make a brand decision for purchase.
The Internet was the top resource for researching digital cameras and televisions, as 75 percent who researched their purchases before visiting a retail location used the Internet as their primary source of information.
Despite the education on brands, consumers were often unsure about the advanced features of the product. About 75 percent of people did not know the model they wanted when they walked into a retail store.
