PalatnikFactor.com

Online Shopping Consumer Behavior Research Report

August 1, 2008 by Pablo Palatnik

If you are involved in e-commerce, it is crucial you understand online shopping behavior. As a consumer myself, I look at certain things but everyone is different so I can’t just base my whole strategy on what I would do, I have to look at the big picture and focus on what is more important to most people. I was thinking where I could improve and what to focus on a bit more so I decided to conduct my own research.

I made an online survey using SurveyMonkey and sent out a survey to a little over 100 people and here are the responses:

1. How many times a month do you shop for products online?

Many times a week 28.6%
Once a week 10.7%
Once every two weeks 10.7%
Once a month 35.7%
Almost Never 14.3%

2. Do you go to a retail store first before making your final purchase online?

Yes 42.9%
No 57.1%

3. What factors play a major role in you purchasing a product from a website? (only one answer, choose the most important to you)

Design 7.1%
Price 42.9%
Design & Price 39.3%
Name of Website (brand) 7.1%
Friend referral 3.6%

4. How do you find the websites you shop at?

Search Engines 82.1%
Word of Mouth 35.7%
Offline Resources 10.7%

5. What price range are the products you shop for the most on average?

$0-$50 32.1%
$51-$100 42.9%
$101-$250 14.3%
$251-$400 7.1%
Over $400 3.6%

6. What makes you return to a website you’ve purchased from before? (choose the most important)

Price 50%
Customer Service 7.1%
Fast Shipping 25%
Quality Product 17.9%

7. How do you prefer to contact a website if you have a question regarding a product?

By phone 46.4%
By e-mail 35.7%
By live chat 17.9%

8. Which websites do you shop at the most?

Standard websites 64.3%
Auction based websites (eBay and Amazon) 32.1%
Shopping Engines (Shopping.com, Shopzilla, etc.) 3.6%

Related Articles:

- A New Breed of Online Shopper – Social Shopping 101