studies

According to a survey by Google/Ipsos/OTX, in addition to in-store components the shopping experience for millions of people now includes online and mobile elements. Among the survey's findings:

• The Internet is a top source for shopping information for 81% of 2010 holiday shoppers, up from 76% in 2008
• 51% of shoppers say they research online and then buy in-store
• 70% say they've used a smartphone for information while shopping in-store

A Google/Compete study showed that online ads ranked at the top among ads recalled by financial service shoppers. Other insights on include:

• Online searchers are more likely to convert than people who don't
• Online searchers are also more likely to maintain $20K+ brokerage account balances
• Searchers are 1.6x more likely to spend $3.5K+ using credit cards

In changing economic conditions, buyer behavior doesn't disappear but it does often change. This collaborative study with Compete shows how deposit account seeking changed in 2009 and found:

• While overall shopping and applicant volume declined, share of online shoppers using search increased
• Online shopping contributes to offline applications - 12% of all online shoppers apply at a branch
• 68% of shoppers perform multiple queries before converting. These shoppers are 1.2X more likely to convert

40% of auto insurance shoppers researched exclusively online, which means that a significant share of potential buyers may not be exposed to your brand if you don't have an online presence. Learn more online and offline buyer behaviors from this Compete study, including:

• Searchers were 3X more likely to buy policies with high premiums ($1.5K+), as compared with non-searchers
• Online shoppers who only recalled online ads were 1.2X more likely to purchase auto insurance than those who recalled only offline ads
• For every 10 online shoppers who applied online, 9 additionally applied offline

How do people research credit cards before committing? This study looks at the role online plays and shows that:

• Searchers were 1.3X more likely to apply than non-searchers, 1.6X more likely to spend $3.k+
• Search is an important customer acquisition tool, with searchers twice as likely to buy than not when searching on new brands
• Shoppers who viewed online ads only were 1.5X more likely to apply compared with online shoppers that viewed offline ads only

How does search play into brokerage account research? This Compete study finds that:

• 78% of shoppers applied online
• Online shopping effects offline sign-ups: for every 10 shoppers that applied online, 3 additional shoppers applied offline
• Searchers were twice as likely to apply than non-searchers

Online health insurance shoppers are multiplying - and search is the main resource they're using to make decisions. A Compete study found:

• About 36% of individual plan applicants applied online
• 43% used search and then converted at a rate up to 10 pts higher than non-searchers
• Aggregators are capturing non-branded conversions

What's the best way for a simple online text ad to get customers walking into a brick-and-mortar store? This study with SymphonyIRI found:

• All test markets that implemented search and display showed lifts from +2.2% to +4.7% versus the dark market that did not have search or display
• Search campaigns that messaged savings lead to the highest click-through rates and ultimately strongest offline sales lift: +4.7%

How did the display and rich media advertising business fare in the U.S. in 2009? Insights from DoubleClick can help you compare your performance to industry norms, including:

• How much consumers are interacting with different types of ads
• How interaction and engagement are split across industry verticals
• How often video ads are watched to completion

A survey with OTX found that 55% of American consumers will go back-to-school shopping this year. Of those shopping:

• 49% plan to shop both online & in-store
• A majority of them will begin purchasing in July, with 41% of them buying in August
• Apparel tops the list for back-to-school shopping

What did we learn from the 2009 holiday shopping season, and how do we use it to assess the groundwork for the next one? Google and OTX found:

• 44% of those surveyed had already started holiday shopping by the end of August
• Google searches including the word "coupons" went up 38% during holiday months
• 64% of those surveyed planned to spend the same amount on holiday shopping in 2010 as in 2009

Although demand and purchase intent for cars were down in 2009, the internet played a surprisingly positive role the following year. A few highlights from this Compete & R.L. Polk & Co study include:

• Consumers are spending more time researching before purchase
• Social networking sites and mobile are emerging as viable auto shopping resources
• Purchasers used third-party sites more consistently in the research process than OEM sites