90 percent of Australian’s are researching offline purchases online first, raising questions of retailers who don’t communicate with their customers online.
The congruence of online and offline buyer behaviour is shown in a new survey which with 90 percent of Australians ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to research a purchase online before proceeding to buy the item offline within the next four weeks, of those surveyed, even if not going through with an offline purchase they are buying online after researching online. Mobile optimised content is becoming more crucial with just over half of all respondents (51 percent) indicating they are ‘likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to make a purchase from a mobile device such as an Apple iPad or mobile phone during the next three months.
The survey was conducted this month by Australia’s online leading Pre-Shop portal, Lasoo.com.au, and involved more than 180 consumers in gauging attitudes relating to retail purchasing and the use of mobile devices.
Unsurprisingly given the May launch, consumer interest in the Apple iPad is particularly high with 43 per cent of respondents planning to purchase such a device. However, retailers should note that although 13 per cent plan to buy within the first month, the majority of respondents (28 per cent) have adopted a more cautious tone and intend to wait until the second generation iPad is released.
“Shoppers have embraced the flexibility that the new generation of mobile devices has given them. While some buying decisions may still entail a visit to a store or browsing through a catalogue, many buyers are now conducting their research online – through multiple devices. The smart retailers recognise this and are building multi-channel marketing programs to capture and motivate these mobile consumers,” says Lasoo.com.au CEO, Paul Marshall.
Given the small sample size and the potential for Lasoo visitors completing the survey to not be wholly representative of the population as a whole, retailers should view the results with some skepticism, but not entirely discount them.
