Just because nosotros're marketing things doesn't mean wereally know the science behind what makes people purchase. But marketing without that information is like walking outside with a blindfold on -- it's going to be very hard to end upwardly at your destination without a scratch.

To catch up on the latest and greatest research about online buyer behavior, keep on reading. Beneath, we'll cover viii data sets on buyer beliefs, their cardinal findings, and the lessons y'all should have away from each slice of research. Take the ones that apply most to your business and then use them make smarter marketer decisions, like building or tweaking data-driven buyer personas, designing a new experiment for your website, or maybe fifty-fifty making the case to your dominate to rent someone new.

So let's swoop right in.

i) " The New Normal of Consumer Behavior and How to Reply "

This written report, carried out by Quirk's Marketing Research Media, interviewed virtually 2,000 U.S. buyers in 2014 in an try to understand how consumer attitudes and behaviors have changed afterward the Keen Recession.

Central Findings
  • Consumer debt is at its lowest point since 2006, indicating that buyers are prioritizing thoughtful purchases over conspicuous consumption.
  • 79% of survey respondents report at to the lowest degree sometimes checking reviews before making an online purchase.
  • Consumer rank "a person like yourself" as a highly apparent source of information, indicating a shift of trust towards individuals and away from institutions.
Takeaway

Encouraging satisfied customers continues to be an important priority for businesses, only this data reveals more than that -- sellers should expect for other opportunities to empower their buyers. Allowing buyers to command the number of options available for consideration, provide feedback during all stages of the ownership procedure, and see how other customers take used your product can all assist mitigate their distrust of larger institutions.

2) " Information technology's All About the Images "

MDG Advertising developed this compelling infographic, which drew data from the National Retail Federation, BrightLocal, PR Newswire, Skyword, Web Liquid, Alexa, and The New York Times, in order to highlight how of import images can be in the buying procedure.

Key Findings
  • 67% of consumers say that the quality of a product epitome is "very of import" in selecting and purchasing a product (compared to 54% who feel the aforementioned way about long product descriptions and 53% who give ratings and reviews the same credence).
  • Content featuring compelling images averages 94% more total views than content without images.
Takeaway

This 1's pretty straightforward. If you lot don't accept expert images on your website and product pages, add them now. And if you lot accept images on your site, but they aren't loftier quality, upgrade them now to appeal to today'south cyberspace buyers.

iii) " Why Customers Shop Online "

In this report, Shopper Approved set out to sympathize why consumers purchase online, rather than through brick and mortar stores. Their survey included 25,660 individuals who were asked "What primal gene influenced you to buy online instead of locally?" immediately after they purchased from 207 online retailers in a diversity of industries.

Central Findings

The following factors came out tops in terms of encouraging online purchases:

  • 25.4% said larger selection
  • 25% said better pricing
  • 24.vii% said more convenient
  • 7.2% said time savings
  • iii.6% said easy to compare
  • three.3% said no sales tax
Takeaway

If you're an online business, you accept an advantage over traditional retailers in that you aren't limited to the amount of shelf infinite available when considering which items to stock. Adding selection, therefore, may aid yous entreatment to online buyers, as can keeping your prices below traditional competitors and streamlining your purchase process to create a convenient feel for shoppers.

4) " The Psychology of Stuff and Things "

"Fanboys" -- those who volition purchase any product offered by the companies they follow -- are an interesting phenomenon that most businesses should strive to understand, given their implications for brand awareness and future sales. A 2010 written report by Kyungmi Kim and Marcia Johnson shows that the strong associations underpinning this "cult-similar' following form at a neural level.

Key Findings

By scanning participants' brains equally they viewed boxes full of items labeled "mine" compared with containers labeled with others' names, Kim and Johnson were able to identify extra activity in the media prefrontal cortex -- the surface area associated with the way nosotros think about ourselves -- when the owned items were viewed.

Takeaway

Many consumers subconsciously view the brands they associate with equally beingness signals of their membership in certain groups (see fanatical Apple buyers and the video game console wars as evidence of how owned items tin be used to convey certain personality traits). If you lot want your customers to identify as strongly with your products as they practise with these notable brands, wait for ways to encourage buyers to merits buying of their purchases.

5) " Take Advantage of Positive Email Attitudes "

Interesting research by Forrester Research demonstrates that consumer attitudes towards email marketing are condign less negative -- good news for marketers that rely on this powerful channel. This tendency comes from a survey of 33,546 U.Southward. online adults and is based on the following data points.

Cardinal Findings
  • 42% of U.Due south. online adults delete nigh email advertising without reading it, down from 44% in 2012 and 59% in 2010.
  • 3 in 10 respondents agree that they oft wonder how the companies sending them messages got their contact information.
  • The pct of respondents agreeing that nigh email ads don't offer anything of interest fell from 41% in 2012 to 38% in 2014.
Takeaway

Consumers seem to be feeling meliorate about email promotions, only there are yet some weak spots. Every bit a result, it is important for marketers to balance promotions with other more engaging messages.

6) " How Consumers Class Their Impressions of Companies "

A contempo study by Vanessa DiMauro and Don Bulmer in conjunction with The Lodge For New Communications Research indicates that the quality of a company's products is the most important factor contributing to consumers' perception of the company. To reach this conclusion, DiMauro and Bulmer presented survey participants with a list of several unlike factors and asked them to charge per unit their importance in forming their impression of a company.

Cardinal Findings

The following percentages represent the number of participants giving "very important" responses to the prompt higher up:

  • Product quality - 80%
  • Cost of products and services - 55%
  • Company's client care program - 37%
  • What trusted contacts say about the visitor - 34%
  • Customer reviews - 30%
  • Ratings on social media sites - 30%
  • What the media says about the company - 13%
  • What the company says in ads - 10%
  • The company's social media presence - vii%
Takeaway

Product quality is male monarch when it comes to boosting perceptions of your visitor -- and fortunately, that's one of the few factors in the list above that'south completely nether your command. If you're not sure how to improve your product, the easiest style to start is to enquire your customers. Check your reviews for suggested improvements or employ social media and other consumer-focused web tools to ask prospective customers directly what changes they'd like to see.

7) " What Influences an Online Buy Decision "

Looking at enquiry to determine what causes consumers to purchase gives internet retailers the insight needed to improve their offerings and boost sales. Using a collection of studies, online store provider Bigcommerce identified the x chief factors listed beneath that contribute to purchase decisions.

Key Findings
  1. Product quality - 56%
  2. Free aircraft - 49%
  3. Like shooting fish in a barrel returns - 35%
  4. Customer reviews - 33%
  5. Visual search - 30%
  6. Great navigation - 26%
  7. Checkout ease - 24%
  8. Multiple options - 24%
  9. Special size - 12%
  10. New product - 10%
Takeaway

As in the DiMauro and Bulmer written report referenced above, product quality comes out on top in Bigcommerce's infographic. They begin to differ afterwards that, with free shipping and easy returns take an expected 2nd and third (the success of Amazon Prime and Zappos highlight how important these factors are). If you aren't already offering complimentary shipping, see if a small cost increment might encompass the cost without affecting sales besides significantly. And if there are any resistance points that complicate your returns process, minimize them as much as possible.

8) " Consumer Psychology & The Ecommerce Checkout "

Online savings code hub vouchercloud compiled the results of a number of studies to create its "Consumer Psychology & The E-Commerce Checkout" infographic. While the unabridged affair is worth a await, the key findings below should give you a starting point for making meaningful changes to your checkout or conversion process.

Key Findings
  • 57% of online consumers will abandon a website if they experience more than than three seconds of load time. 80% of these could-be customers will never return.
  • Products are assessed and initial purchase judgments are made within 90 seconds.
  • 41% of shopping cart abandonments occur because consumers meet subconscious charges at checkout.
  • 53% of consumers say that low-toll shipping is a sufficient reason to change online retailers.
Takeaway Lessons

The statistics showcased in vouchercloud'southward infographic make one thing clear: Anything that adds resistance to your checkout procedure reduces your sales. When information technology comes to boosting online sales, consumers wait for streamlined experiences that give them the all-time possible deals with the smallest amount of hassle. To see how your checkout process stacks upwards, go through each of your competitors' shopping carts and endeavor to brand a purchase. Anything that makes your own system more complicated than theirs should exist revised.

Were you surprised by whatever of these findings?  If and so, share your reactions -- every bit well as how you plan to apply these lessons to your business -- in the comments below.

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Originally published November 11, 2014 8:00:00 AM, updated July 28 2017