Internet is influencing consumer behaviour as 7 out of 10 buyers know
the exact brand and model they want to buy with the help of online
research before entering the store, a study by Google India has said.
According
to the study conducted by Nielsen on behalf of Google India, seven out
of 10 of the respondents said they know the exact brand and model they
want to buy with the help of online research before entering the store.
Also,
40 percent of the respondents said they took help of online information
for making purchase decisions for technology products.
"This
study highlights two facts about Internet in India - it is not just
helping create awareness but is substantially impacting decisions of
final purchases and secondly, it is impacting decisions in tier II
cities as well and mobiles are emerging as a strong medium to connect to
the Internet," Google India VP and MD (Sales and Operations) Rajan
Anandan told reporters here.
The insights will be shared with
clients to help them understand how offline behaviour of consumers is
changing with increasing Internet penetration and how important it has
become to strengthen one's digital assets, he added.
The study
found that most searches were for laptops (54 percent), followed by
mobile phones (39 percent), digital cameras (38 percent) and televisions
(33 percent).
Tech and consumer electronic products emerged as
the second most searched category, after travel, with query volumes
growing at over 31 percent year-on-year.
Samsung emerged as the
most searched mobile phone brand, followed by Nokia and iPhone (Apple).
In laptop category, Dell topped searches, followed by HP and Samsung,
while Apple iPad, Aakash and Samsung were most searched tablet PCs.
Sony, Canon and Nikon were the most searched camera brands, while Sony, Samsung and LG were most searched television brands.
Voltas, LG and Samsung topped search for ACs; while LG, Whirlpool and Godrej were most searched refrigerator brands.
Asked
about the reasons to visit retail stores for purchase, respondents said
they wanted to get a 'look and feel' of the product, check out deals,
negotiate for price, get details on guarantee, get more information on
the selected model and some installation advice.
Over 57 percent
respondents also said they changed their mind about the brand/model they
wanted to purchase when they look for information online as they come
across newer models.
While researching online, respondents said
they were looking for prices of the products, followed by product
photographs, specifications, videos, product reviews, locating stores
and visiting product comparison sites.
The study also found that
Internet is now second only to TV to create awareness for technology
products, especially in metros and Tier-I cities, the study said.
The
study titled 'Tech Shopper Report' was conducted across 12 cities in
India covering top 4 metros and tier I and II cities like Chandigarh,
Kanpur, Kochi and Bhubaneshwar across 3,677 respondents. The offline
interviews were done outside 200 multi-brand and single-brand stores.
The
study also looked into the price range of different products for which
buyers undertook online research and found that the research intensity
was higher for high value products.
For example, the research
intensity increased when price exceeded Rs. 7,000 for mobile phones, Rs.
30,000 for television sets and laptops.
The average duration of online research for products in this price range was about 2 weeks, it added.
"The
retailers' ability to influence a buyer's mind is diminishing and
companies need to look at engaging buyers online about their products
and offerings," Anandan said.
While the technology vertical is one
of the early adopters of digital advertising medium but there is
tremendous scope and opportunity for players to fully leverage the
digital medium to engage buyers online including mobile - which is
growing faster than the PC, he added.
About 46 percent of the
respondents said they used mobile Internet for research and 22 percent
of participants from tier II cities said they used mobile as the sole
device for accessing Internet for research.