PYMNTS.COM sought to provide in-depth understanding about the way consumers decide where, when and how they shop online. The research panel consisted of more than 2,000 online and mobile shoppers. The following will reveal the key takeaway results of this research project conducted in July 2015 in conjunction with Amazon Payments.
Trust is of Paramount Importance
Consumers most frequent concern when shopping online was the security of their information. It is true that multiple factors impact the outcome of how consumers decide where to begin their shopping on the internet, but the top-determining factor wasn’t selection or price — but trust. This was not just a factor in choosing where to begin shopping; evidence shows that consumer trust influenced every stage of the shopping journey.
Where Consumers Begin Shopping
The findings showed 63 percent begin searching for general information on Google, and 45 percent start on Amazon when searching for a specific product. When consumers were asked where they start their shopping journey when they need to buy something online, they most frequently cited a ‘marketplace’. The marketplace of today has evolved quickly. With the emergence of social media, the marketplace has become broader and the amount of online shoppers has increased dramatically. Consumers’ actual shopping begins most often in marketplaces (64%), followed by their favorite merchants (48%).
Why Consumers Choose to Buy
As mentioned previously, the most important reason for determining where to make the final online purchase was trust, at 23 percent. Other factors the consumers stated as most important in determining where to ultimately make a purchase were:
- Tailored promotions or rewards – 16%
- Good experience in the past – 14%
- Item(s) are available in an acceptable time frame – 13%
- Shipping considerations – 11%
- Offered preferred method of payment – 8%
- Ease of use – 6%
- Site that recognizes me – 4%
- Preferred customer – 3%
- Can check out as a guest – 1%
- Stores billing and shipping info – 1%
- Can store payment information – 0%
These findings show that customers are choosing retailers with whom they have built a level of trust. Patrick Gauthier, VP of Amazon Payments says this study shows that a successful trust building must be customer centric — it is about much more than simply being present.
MPD CEO Karen Webster said in response to the research, businesses will succeed as long they achieve consumer trust; “…trust that the sites have what they want to buy, trust that they will be given a fair price, trust that their goods will be delivered to them in a time frame that is relevant. Trust is also something that appears important when consumers are presented with new ways to pay online and on mobile – familiar brands that they know and use seems to trump the efforts of even the most progressive new technology players.”
