Today’s digital minded shopper has widened the scope of purchase possibilities, which appears to have shifted shoppers’ mindset and redefined contemporary brand loyalty. With only 3 percent of consumers loyal to a particular brand and never buy anything else, 97 percent have an apparent willingness to consider brand choices.

At least that is what the findings indicate from AMP Agencies latest report titled Inside the Buy. The national survey includes consumers between the ages 25-49 explores the digital behaviors behind modern shoppers’ path to purchase for both online and offline purchases. The study delved into digital behaviors in five leading consumer categories: baby products, consumer electronics, food and beverage, health and beauty, and fashion.

Overall, 43 percent of consumers report doing some type of research before they buy. By category, 64 percent of consumers research consumer electronics before purchasing compared to 44 percent for baby products, and 31 percent for health and beauty.

Close to one in four respondents reported doing some type of research before making a decision in both the fashion and food and beverage categories. Interestingly enough men are spending significantly more time doing pre-research with 46 percent of men reporting that they always research fashion purchases compared with only 32 percent of women, and 37 percent of male respondents said they always research health and beauty products, while 25 percentof females stated the same.

Other interesting findings from the study include:

• 94 percent of consumers said that research positively influenced their decision to make a purchase, and 36 percent said they bought a product because of the research they found.
• Though the web appears to offer an endless wealth of information and opinion, says the report, but the findings show that consumers want more information:

30 percent of consumers stated they cannot find enough of the information they are looking for; and

Only 4 percent felt overwhelmed by the amount of research available to them in a particular category

The survey found that 47 percent of shoppers look to a brand website for pre-purchase research, while 46 percent report visiting a retailer’s website first.  Websites dedicated to reviews and social media sites come close, with 40 percent of respondents reporting visiting sites dedicated to reviews and 38 percent doing research on social media websites.  Blogs fell below, with just 18% of consumers reporting.

73 percent of consumers spent at least a few days researching a product, while 24 percent spent less than one day conducting an online search, says the report. Overall, most consumers say they conduct some research before purchasing a product, with only 2 percent stating they usually make their purchases on the spot.

The study unearths valuable findings showing that today’s digital minded shoppers display savvy and discerning behaviors when it comes to their final purchase decisions, with an apparent shift in the path to purchase. The new shopper experience has widened the scope of purchase possibilities and has powered the influence of the people, which appears to have shifted shoppers’ mindset and redefined contemporary brand loyalty.

Visit POPAI’s Online Library to download the complete report.