Online shoppers are not impulsive
Thu, May 5 2005
There was an interesting study performed recently by ScanAlert to determine how long a web user takes to make a purchasing decision. In my book How To Build A Website And Stay Sane" I talk about "high-consideration" versus "low-consideration" purchases, and that site owners need to know how much information and reassurance should be given to visitors before they are comfortable enough to make a purchasing decision. I explained that consumers go through a process of obtaining enough information to be satisfied they can make the right decision, and that it's critical that websites contain enough information to allow that to happen. But how much is enough? How long do web users really spend researching each purchase? Popular wisdom has been divided on the issue, with some saying that web users are more likely to make impulse purchases because of the simplicity of ordering online and others saying that web users tend to spend a lot of time on research before making a purchase - which may even be done offline some time later. Personally I've always leaned toward the latter, and I know anecdotally that many of IVT's clients find they have lots of traffic to their site which doesn't translate directly into online sales but does result in an offline transaction at a later date. The ScanAlert study tracked more than 8 million web users, measuring the length of time from when they first visited a website to when they made a purchase. They found that the average time delay between a consumer's first visit to a website and their first purchase was just over 19 hours, with over 20% of shoppers delaying their purchase decision for more than three days. The results included: * 50% took more than 1 hour * 40% took more than 3 hours * 35% took more than 12 hours * 28% took more than one day * 21% took more than three days * 14% took more than one week * 4% took more than two weeks Keep in mind that many of the 50% of shoppers who spent *less* than one hour on a site to make a purchasing decision had probably already spent extensive time doing research on other sites. While a study like this cannot show it, I suspect that a very small percentage of consumers actually make a purchase within an hour without first conducting research on other sites. Nevertheless, even with that limitation in mind the study still shows quite clearly that user behaviour tends towards using the web for extensive product research prior to making a purchase, with many people visiting a website to investigate options and then returning hours, days or weeks later to make the purchase. Almost half of all online purchases are made by people who visit once and then make the purchase on a return visit, rather than making a purchase on the initial visit. So what can we learn from this? Firstly, make sure you provide enough information on your site to allow potential customers to feel comfortable in making a purchase decision. Because shopping online is such an intangible experience, consumers need to satisfy themselves that the product they are considering will actually meet their needs in a different way to if they were in a physical store looking at it on a shelf. They can't touch it or hold it, they can't talk to a salesperson about the features, and they probably feel that if it turns out to be a lemon they can't return it as easily as to a real store. It's therefore critical to put up enough information for them to make a purchase decision - details of features, lots of pictures, testimonials from other customers, and a simple way for them to ask you questions if they need to. Secondly, trust and credibility are important factors. Users don't just look at one website and make a buying decision: they generally look at many sites selling the same or similar products and use the web to comparison-shop, then hours or days later they select a vendor and make a purchase. Unlike visiting real stores, skipping from one online store to another is only a click and a couple of seconds. When purchasing from a traditional store a consumer will probably determine a 'class' of product (such as an MP3 player) that they want, then consider the retailers available, then travel to one retailer, then determine the type of MP3 player they want from the range available at that store. Online, the process is different: it starts with researching the types of MP3 players available which leads to a decision about which type to buy, then an examination of the retailers who can supply that type of item, and finally a purchase from the retailer who fulfils certain needs such as a level of trustworthiness and value. You can find more information about the report online.