Online Research Boosts Electronics Sales

The CEA and Yahoo! have joined together for a research project that indicates nearly 77% of all electronics purchases stemmed from online research. Of the $32.5 billion spent on these goods online research from search engines and manufacturer and retail websites influenced about 77% ($25.1 billion)of sales.

Consumers tracked in the study said they used online portals because comparing prices online is simple (73%) and because there is a wider variety of products available (64%). Nearly half of those who researched online but bought offline used search engines as the basis for their information gathering.

The study also found that those who use search to get additional product information feel more educated about their buys, are more likely to tell friends and peers about the products, and are used by friends or family to find out about specific products like computers, cell phones, televisions and digital cameras. These were the product areas studied by the researchers.

For online marketers, this study indicates that including more product information, price differentials and related products are a good selling tool. Before major purchases most consumers will research different brands, and if your site has the best information and price points the chances are your site will get that sale.

Tags: online marketing, search engines, search marketing