Econsultancy released their latest report on “Habits and Motivations of Consumers” yesterday with some interesting findings on influencers of the purchase decision.
Below is a summary of “How We Shop in 2010 (US)” with some insights:
More than half (55%) of consumers report that a product with a high rating will increase their likelihood of purchasing.
Customer reviews boost buyer motivation and lead to a higher conversion rate, so it’s wise to encourage reviews and feature the highest rated products on your home page and key category pages.
68% of consumers aged 18-26 use emailed coupons online.
Is your target audience young adults? Make sure to offer them coupons and make it easy to e-mail those coupons to themselves & friends.
You may want to encourage visitors to sign up for your newsletter in exchange for a coupon they can use. Then, in the future you can re-market by sending new coupons & offers via e-mail.
The purchase process for women tends to involve a greater range of media than men, and to take longer.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Spread your marketing efforts across a wide range of channels including search, display ads, re-targeting, social media, live events and word of mouth.
The age range most reliant on e-commerce is the 27 to 38 year-old demographic.
This age group grew up with the internet and are actively buying online. I suspect these people are starting families & businesses so they are busy, need convenience and rely on the advice of peers both online & offline—all problems that are solved with e-commerce.
Location is a more powerful factor in the buying equation than many of the other variables that are used to target products.
The internet gives access to the world; yet people want to buy locally or at least reasonably close to them. In a way this makes sense because if something is close to me I can get it faster, and might have an easier time if a return or repair should be necessary.
People over the age of 38 are significantly less likely to use social networks to pursue product information or seek recommendations.
Social Media may not be the best bet if you are targeting an older demographic; however, this is definitely going to depend on your specific market. Could it be that people over 38 already have their friend network built and rely on their existing Rolodex?
What insights do you glean from the latest report on habits and motivations of consumers? Post your thoughts below.