PYMNTS Daily Data Dive: Consumer Online Browsing

US eCommerce Q3 Sales

Browsing and shopping go hand in hand. New research by Google and Purchased shows that over half of shoppers surveyed visit a retailer’s website or app before buying a product in-store. Those shoppers were evenly divided over whether they used a search engine or visited a store or another location to research a product.

Most shoppers visited a retailer’s app or website when making a purchasing decision, but fewer did so when looking for information on that product. Search engines were popular for researching purchasing information. Visiting physical retail stores was less popular; less than half did so for purchasing decisions, and even fewer did so to research a product. Around a quarter or those surveyed used social media to find out about a product.

Here is the data:

71% | The percentage who visit a retailer’s app or website when making a purchasing decision

58% | The percentage of shoppers who visit a retailer’s website or app before making an in-store purchase

54% | The percentage of those surveyed who use a search engine

53% | The percentage of those surveyed who said they would visit a store or another location to research a product

34% | The percentage who visit a retailer’s app or website for research