NEW STUDY SHOWS CONSUMERS TURNING TO AMAZON FIRST WHEN SEARCHING FOR PRODUCTS
Ahead of the 2016 holiday season, a new study from personalization platform company BloomReach conducted by Survata found that Amazon has grown its lead as the place where consumers first search for products.
Now, 55 percent of consumers turn to Amazon first when searching for products online. The second-annual “State of Amazon” study, which surveyed 2,000 U.S. consumers over Labor Day weekend, found that search engines and retailers lost almost equal ground, coming in at 28 percent and 16 percent respectively. Amazon increased its share by 11 percent in one year following BloomReach’s inaugural “State of Amazon” study.
The e-commerce giant has steadily increased its product-search lead throughout the year. BloomReach also conducted a mid-year survey of 2,000 consumers in April, revealing Amazon had 53 percent of consumers’ first product search, with 27 percent for search engines and 19 percent for retailers.
The 2016 “State of Amazon” study also found that Amazon is often involved in almost all online shopping activities. Approximately 9 in 10 consumers will check Amazon even if they find a product they want on another retailer’s site, with 78 percent of those consumers indicating that happened often or always. However, comparison-shopping also worked against Amazon, as 70 percent of consumers said they’ll consult another retailer before purchasing on Amazon. However, only 52 percent indicated they always or often double-checked retailers against Amazon.
The study also analyzed consumer shopping behaviors on mobile devices, a channel that is driving more than half of all traffic to top sites and has grown to 30 percent of all U.S. e-commerce. While Amazon (mobile site or app) still commanded 50 percent of consumers’ first stop for products on mobile, search engines fared better with 34 percent, with retailers lagging at 16 percent. BloomReach found that 76 percent of consumers shop on their smartphone, with 90 percent of them reporting that they’ve made a purchase on a smartphone.
“Amazon continues to be the first destination when consumers want to find a product, driven largely by a perceived superior end-to-end experience. Online shopping is all about relevance and convenience, and comparison shopping has never been easier – especially with mobile growth,” said Jason Seeba, head of marketing at BloomReach. “However, while online retailers increasingly feel the pinch, search engines still play an integral part of an e-commerce strategy. This study highlights that just because consumers start on Amazon, that doesn’t mean they ultimately buy from Amazon. Instead, they’re often comparing and researching products on search engines and other retailers.”
Check out the full study here.
