Consumers are using the Internet to shop around for financial services, but, more often than not, won't make any purchases, according to a recent study by Brittain Associates, Atlanta. The study found that more than 15 million people said they have researched mortgage and equity loan rates on the Web, but only one-third of them went on to apply for a loan from one of the lenders.
Other findings show that 20 percent of those shoppers actually obtained a mortgage or equity loan as a result of an online search and only 33 percent of 7.2 million people who searched the Web for rates on certificates of deposit or U.S. Treasury bills purchased them. In contrast, close to 75 percent of the 15 million people who used the Web to find new credit cards applied for one online.
