UK Buyers research first online

Hitting the Web before High Street

More UK consumers are researching products and prices online before making an in-store purchase, according to a survey of ipoints loyalty program members. Nearly two million UK consumers use ipoints.

The data, collected in October 2007 and January 2008 by the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) in association with eDigital Research and Maximiles, was reported as an index ranging from 1 to 10. Ten stood for "always using the Internet prior to purchase, and one meant "never."

In January, buyers of books, CDs, music, games, videos, DVDs and software reported an average of 7.60, from 7.39 in October. Gift buyers were somewhat less likely to research their purchases online first, registering an average of 6.65 up from 6.43 in October.

Online research of in-store purchases increased across all retail sectors except for home and consumer electronics, both of which slipped slightly.

"The Internet has become a natural port of call for British consumers researching a wide range of purchases, even if they go to a bricks-and-mortar store to buy," said Karin von Abrams, senior analyst at eMarketer. "And with more UK households feeling the economic pinch, we expect to see even greater use of online resources to chase down bargains."

More than three-quarters of respondents said they were satisfied with online retail Web sites.

The customer satisfaction numbers were actually down in some categories from the October study. Respondents said they were slightly less satisfied with Web security, range of goods and services, prices and e-retailer delivery than in the prior study.

"The recent negative publicity on consumer data security, due in part to the likes of the HMRC data loss, has no doubt played a role in increased e-customer concerns over online security," said Robert Barker, chief operating officer at Maximiles. "Also, expectations on some e-retailers around meeting the delivery target for Christmas, at what is a very busy time of year, have probably played a role in a tiny drop in the satisfaction rating for delivery."

Customer satisfaction has contributed to UK retail e-commerce growth. Merchants have generally been careful to establish excellent security for transactions and reliable delivery services, and online prices are very competitive.

As a result, eMarketer predicted in June 2007 that UK retail e-commerce sales would reach $155.6 billion in 2011, up from $84 billion in 2007.

www.emarketer.com eMarkerter 2008-03-26