studies

Today's vehicle shoppers research and decide faster than ever. They use a diverse set of online tools in their research process and have high expectations from brands throughout the path to purchase. Insights from this year's auto buyflow study include:

• 81% of auto shoppers decide within 3 months (vs. 67% in 2009).
• Safety, utility and fuel efficiency are among the attributes top of mind for shoppers.
• Searching inventory and obtaining trade-in information were among the top shopper behaviors that increased this year on 3rd party sites.

Patients and caregivers spend an annual average of $853 on medical devices, with 72% of those expenses re-occurring. Google partnered with Ipsos OTX MediaCT to conduct research to better understand patients' and caregivers' research and shopping behavior with regard to at home medical products, including hearing aids, mobility equipment, medical alert services and scrubs. Here are some highlights around what we found:

• 86% of consumers research prior to purchasing.
• Consumers spend an average of 30 days researching their medical equipment purchase.
• 66% considered 2-3 brands prior to purchase.

Download the full report to find out what kind of opportunities exist for marketers to engage with these patients and caregivers.

How are patients researching certain conditions and treatments online? This 2011 Google/Compete study focuses on how patients research treatment for depression. Here are some highlights:

• The internet is the top resource for depression information as well as for drug treatment, while TV is the lowest.
• 27% of patients were prompted to ask their doctor about specific drug, directly related to the research information they found online.
• While 78% of depression patients are researching general information about the condition, 56% are researching about the medications available. 48% are looking at side effects and 43% are looking to see other patients' experiences with the condition.

Google analyzed game consumption through the lens of search and identified the following trends to help publishers engage with gamers:

• Generic, platform-agnostic video-game searches have increased 44% in the last 12 months, while searches for games on specific platforms have declined 11%, indicating the industry shift to a "games as service" model
• Core gamers" - mostly XBox and Playstation users - and "Casual Gamers" who mostly use the Wii, demonstrate dramatically different search behavior
• There has been significant growth in query volume for categories like games for girls (+76%), sports (basketball +47%, football +43% and soccer +41%) and MMOs (+26%), while role-playing, first-person shooter and adventure queries have all declined in the past year

Insights around the role the internet plays for African-American consumers. The OTX study commissioned by Google and in partnership with GlobalHue is packaged in this comprehensive, easy-to-share dynamic whitepaper.

The positive outlook for travel continues in 2011, as the proportion of travelers planning to take the same number of trips or more has grown. In this year's Traveler's Road to Decision, we found:

• 54% of business travelers have downloaded a travel-related app onto their mobile phone
• Over 30% of personal travelers have watched a travel-related video on their mobile device in the past year
• 68% of business travelers watch travel-related videos (on desktop or mobile device), up from 56% two years ago

Google and Compete conducted an online survey to understand the role of search in the online channel in the beauty research process. Here's what we found:

• Search was used by 36% of online beauty researchers and shoppers, making it one of the most utilized and valued resources consumers use to research and shop for beauty and personal care products.
• Searchers are more valuable than non-searchers. They are 38% more likely than non-searchers to have shopped for beaut 4 or more times in the last 3 months. They are more than 4X more likely to have spent $100 or more on their last beauty purchase.
• 83% of consumers report searching as a direct result of seeing an ad in a print magazine.

Google and Compete partnered to understand how shoppers and applicants arrive at an auto insurance policy. Further, we look to quantify the relationship between types of searching activity and subsequent online conversion rates. Here are some topline findings:

• Search is opportunity for connection with consumers - new or old.
• Auto insurance searchers are more profitable than non-searchers.
• Online research leads to online and offline conversions.
• Mobile is an increasingly important point of contact with a variety of customers.

There are 2.4 billion conversations about brands every day. What role do search and the Internet play? We paired up with KellerFay group to find out:

• Google is the #1 spark of word of mouth conversations and directly informs 146 million brand conversations a day
• Word of mouth impressions generated by search are 25% more credible and 17% more likely to lead to purchase than those generated by online social media

Are online searchers a valuable behavior for beverage advertisers? We worked with Compete on a new online to offline study to find:

• Searchers spend more than non-searchers on beverage, driven by more frequent rips and more spending per trip
• Search engines drive 1 out of 3 visits to beverage branded sites
• Searchers visit more often and spend more time on beverage sites than non-searchers

What's the best way to balance precision and scale when targeting the auto insurance customer? We looked at the effectiveness of reach with Compete and found:

• 66% of auto insurance seekers can uniquely be reached via a one-day Google Display Network Blast that cannot be reached on the top portal homepage
• A one-day Google Display Network Blast + YouTube Homepage Takeover reaches 88% of all auto insurance seekers

A business decision maker's time is precious. How can he/she be reached effectively? We investigated with Compete to find:

• 26% of the visitors to the Google Display Network custom channel are business decision makers, delivering a 6x greater composition than any portal page