Wednesday, 28, Jul 2010 10:07
Almost one-fifth of shoppers begin the buying process with a visit to a search engine, according to a new study.
The research, which was carried out by comScore for Searchandise Commerce and iProspect, found that 18 per cent of consumers start with an online search and 37 per cent of these then move on to a shopping website.
Altogether, two-thirds start the shopping process online, with one-fifth beginning on a retail website and one-tenth at physical stores.
However, just three per cent begin shopping by visiting a blog or social networking website.
The research also discovered that half of shoppers convert offline after consulting 4.1 information sources on average.
Robert Murray, chief executive of iProspect, said that retailers "cannot afford to have their offerings fail to show up in the search results".
He added: "To remain competitive, they must have a holistic search strategy that understands and addresses a variety of information for all of the products they sell."
Online sales in the UK rose by 20 per cent year-on-year in June, according to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.
Britons have spent £250 billion online in the last decade, with the market expected to double again in the next ten years.
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