SOURCE: The Nielsen Company
July 22, 2008 10:00 ET
Internet Strategy Essential to Offline Retail, According to Nielsen Online
Eighty Percent of Consumer Electronics Purchasers Bought at a Store Whose Web Site They Visited First
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - July 22, 2008) - According to Nielsen Online, a service of The
Nielsen Company, the Web plays an increasingly integral role in retail for
brick and mortar retailers, even among purchases that occur in-store. A
Nielsen survey in May 2008 found that among a representative group of
people who had recently made consumer electronics purchases in a brick and
mortar store, 80 percent bought from a store whose Web site they visited
first. Further, 53 percent purchased from the retailer on whose Web site
they had spent the most time.
While the benefits of online sales have long been apparent to retailers,
the ability of the Internet to drive offline sales is now rising to the
fore. Among consumer electronics purchasers, 58 percent indicated that if
they had only one channel in which to do product research prior to
purchase, they would choose the Internet, compared with only 25 percent
that would choose to be able to do research in a brick and mortar store.
"A strong Web presence with broad and deep online content is critical for
all retailers, including brick and mortar stores," said Ken Cassar, vice
president, industry insights, Nielsen Online. "Surprisingly enough, the
industry that retailers should look to for guidance on multi-channel
integration is the media industry, which has embraced the notion of content
portability, allowing their consumers to easily consume content wherever
they are with whatever device they prefer. Retailers that are able to
facilitate consumers' multi-channel shopping behaviors will enjoy growth in
market share across the enterprise."
Respondents were asked: If you were only able to use one source of
information to support your next consumer electronics purchase, which would
you choose?
Table 1: Information Sources ranked by Preference among Consumers
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Preferred Information Source Percent of Consumers
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Internet 58
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Visit to local stores 25
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Reviews in newspapers/magazines 8
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Friends and family 8
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Other 1
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Source: Nielsen Online
Low Consideration Categories
Even in product categories that involve less research before purchase, the
Web plays an important part in the information gathering process. Nielsen's
survey showed that 44 percent of pet food consumers went online to learn
more about the product. Safety was top of mind for these consumers, who
were most interested in nutritional specifications, product ingredients and
recall information in their online research (see Table 2).
Table 2: Top 5 Topics among Consumers Researching Pet Food Online
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Topic Percent of Consumers
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Learn about nutritional specifications 48
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Learn about product ingredients 45
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Learn about recalls 45
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Learn more about safety issues 40
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Find sales/promotions 40
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Source: Nielsen Online
Webinar, July 23rd: Pinpointing the Value of Multi-Channel Behavior
Please sign up here
(http://www.netratings.com/resources.jsp?section=event&nav=2#) to join Ken
Cassar in a Webinar discussing the complex relationship between online
activity and offline retail on July 23rd. Learn more about how the field of
retail is evolving in an increasingly digital age.
About Nielsen Online:
Nielsen Online, a service of The Nielsen Company, delivers comprehensive,
independent measurement and analysis of online audiences, advertising,
video, consumer-generated media, word of mouth, commerce and consumer
behavior, and includes products previously marketed under the
Nielsen//NetRatings and Nielsen BuzzMetrics brands. With high quality,
technology-driven products and services, Nielsen Online enables clients to
make informed business decisions regarding their Internet, digital and
marketing strategies. For more information, please visit
www.nielsen-online.com. Also, visit our blog at
www.nielsen-online.com/blog.
About The Nielsen Company:
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading
market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information
(Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics),
mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The
Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more
than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more
information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.
Editor's Note: Please source all data to Nielsen Online.