In the present globalized market situation, consumers are very much cautious about their purchasing decisions and they use different sources to find information about products and services. Internet serves as a major resource for consumers seeking advertising and shopping information regarding products and services. According to a consumer research conducted by Clark, Martire & Bartolomeo and commissioned by Google, of the consumers who researched products and services after seeing them advertised in the newspapers, two-third’s of consumers use the Internet for their pre-purchase research.
Online research helps consumers make purchases
The Internet research helps consumers to get information about the products and services and make purchases. According to the study, 67% of the consumers use the Internet for their pre-purchase research about the products and services after seeing them advertised in the newspapers. Of that group, nearly 70% of the consumers actually make a purchase following their pre-purchase research online.
Online and print mediums reinforce consumer confidence
Online & print mediums reinforce consumer confidence in purchasing products. News papers give the consumers information regarding the availability of products but not the detailed information. According to the study, of those who saw at least one product in a newspaper, 67% of consumers have conducted their research on the Internet compared with 48% visited a store, 23% called a store and 23% asked a friend. According to Newspaper Association of America (NAA), seeing a product in the newspaper after seeing it online makes the consumers trust the product more and be more likely to purchase.
Combined mediums influence buying behavior
News papers give consumer the first hand information about the products and services available in the market. But, the consumers make buying decisions only after making their pre-purchase research online. The Internet and newspapers have the major influence on the buying behavior of the consumer. According to the study, nearly 30% of the Internet-using newspaper readers went online to research at least one product that they saw in the newspaper. The combination of the Internet and newspaper ads influences the consumer buying behavior.
Therefore, it can be said that, pre-purchase research on the Internet dives online traffic as it reinforces consumer confidence in their products and services that they are planning to purchase.
