consumer path to purchase - retail council of · to better understand the consumer path to purchase...

Copyright 2014. The NPD Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This document is

Proprietary and Confidential and may not be disclosed in any manner, in whole or in

part, to any third party without the express written consent of NPD.

The Retail Council of Canada

March 2014

Consumer Path to Purchase

2

Objectives and Methodology p.3

Executive Summary: Insights and Implications p.4

Executive Summary: Metrics at a Glance p.16

Understanding the Touchpoints

Winter Apparel p.22

Personal Accessories p.36

Beauty p.49

PC/ Electronics p.61

Beverage DA p.74

Online Purchase, Consideration and In-Store Synergies p.87

Table of Contents

3

Objective: To better understand the consumer path to purchase with an emphasis on how digital touchpoints influence

consumer behaviour and potentially interact with the consumer in-store experience.

The study aims to help retailers identify opportunities to increase purchase conversion by improving digital

marketing strategies and tactics and the synergy between digital efforts and in-store efforts.

Methodology: An Online survey was fielded from January 23 to February 7, 2014 to a Canadian representative sample of

3,337 panelists aged 18-64, representing Canadian adult demographics.

To qualify, respondents indicated a planned purchase of one of the following products in the past month:

o Winter Apparel n=698 (Winter coat or jacket n=362, Winter boots n=336)

o Personal Accessory n=555 (Watch n=409, Handbag, purse or satchel n=146)

o Beauty n=699 (Face or beauty cream n=699)

o PC/ Electronics n=793 (Headphones n=403, Tablet computer n=212, Notebook/ laptop/ desktop computer n=179)

o Beverage DA n=592 (Single serve coffee machine n=340, Juicer/ Juice extractor n=108, Espresso machine n=76, Soda maker n=69 )

Research notes: NPD reports at n>75. However, if base sizes are between 75-99, these are noted by an asterisk as an

indication of interpretation with caution

Objectives and Methodology

The image should fill up the entire space of the gray box, no gray should be seen

Executive Summary: Insights and Implications

5

Path to Purchase Overview

• The present study reinforces that physical stores are

still the dominant purchase channel (for planned

purchases)

• Channel dominance varies by category, e.g.,

91% in-store purchases for Beauty vs. 70% for

PC/Electronics

• Moreover, online purchase consideration among the

in-store buyers is low

• Varies by category, e.g., 8% consideration in

Beauty vs. 31% in PC/Electronics

• Consistent with expectations, the in-store

experience is a dominant touchpoint to convert

shoppers to buyers

• The in-store visit was the most common touchpoint

used among Winter Apparel, Personal Accessories

and Beauty buyers and ranked second for

PC/Electronics and Beverage Domestic Appliances

6


• Yet, among those who reported information

gathering in-store, many did not make a purchase at

that point and opted to explore other touchpoints

after the store visit

• There is an opportunity, therefore, for retailers to

improve their in-store experience to better convert

shoppers to buyers (rather than risk losing these

potential sales)

• A retailer has to ensure that all point-of-sale

materials are optimized and store associates are

thoughtfully trained to help a shopper reach a

purchase decision

• One possible strategy that appears to resonate

with consumers is to provide access to

interactive digital displays in the store to allow

shoppers to learn more about the brands and

products

7


• The demand for digital interactive displays is

quite high ranging from 52% in Beauty to 71%

in Beverage Domestic Appliances

• Another strategy is to allow shoppers to purchase

products from a store’s website if the product,

model, size or colour was not available in-store

• Varying by category, two-thirds or more would

like to be able to purchase products from a

store’s website as part of their in-store

transaction

• Also of great interest, across all categories there

were a large proportion of shoppers who explored

various information sources yet reported that they

did not rely on in-store information to inform their

decision at all

• Varies by category, e.g., 58% in Beverage

Domestic Appliances vs. 36% in Beauty

8


• The planned buyers captured in this study reported

their purchase process took about 3 weeks thus

highlighting the opportunity that retailers and brands

have to engage with consumers

• Duration varies by category, e.g., average of 22

days for PC/Electronics and Beverage

Domestic Appliances vs. only 7 days for Beauty

• At the broadest level, therefore, the general findings

are consistent with the assumption of informed

consumption

Ultimately the present study revealed the overall

importance of understanding the path to purchase,

the touchpoints utilized along the way and the

opportunity to influence or recruit shoppers during

their decision process

9

Brand Conversion from Initial Consideration

• On average, shoppers reported that they had less

than 2 brands in mind when they first thought about

making their purchase

• Although in some categories brand purchase

conversion from initial consideration set was high

(e.g., 85% in Beauty and 81% in Beverage Domestic

Appliances) other categories revealed a tremendous

opportunity for brands to enter the consideration set

and rise above the competitors

• For example, only 52% conversion in Winter

Apparel and 60% in Personal Accessories

• There are many implications that stem from low

conversion from initial brand consideration to

purchase conversion

• It is not enough to simply drive brand

awareness and earn initial consideration

10

Brand Conversion from Initial Consideration

• Emerging brands or smaller, less dominant

brands have the opportunity to recruit buyers

and successfully compete with brands that may

have been on the initial consideration set

• Obviously, optimizing a brand’s footprint across

touchpoints is critical

• Brand information should highlight performance

on key purchase selection criteria, establish

brand differentiation while guiding consumers to

specific products that fit their willingness to

spend

11

Retailer Conversion from Initial Consideration

• On average, shoppers reported that they had less

than 2 retailers in mind when they first thought about

making their purchase

• Retailer conversion from initial consideration to

purchase was generally higher than brand

conversion

• Retailer purchase conversion from initial

consideration was highest in Beauty (88%) and

lowest in Personal Accessories (72%) and

Winter Apparel (73%)

• While retailer conversion from initial consideration is

higher than for brands, there is still a viable

opportunity to recruit shoppers to other destinations

12

Touchpoint Influence and Impact

• All touchpoints were deemed helpful by a majority of

their respective users across all product categories

(i.e., no touchpoint received less than 63%

endorsement for this measure)

• Perhaps more importantly, the majority of touchpoint

users across all categories, with the exception of

Beauty, reported that they either identified new

brands or retailers worth considering or were able to

rule out brands or retailers that they had been

considering

• Word of Mouth is the most impactful for identifying a

brand or retailer

• For example in Winter Apparel, 56% reported

identifying a new brand and 48% a new retailer

• More than 30% in both PC/Electronics and

Beverage Domestic Appliances reported

identifying a new retailer

13


• Store Websites are most important for identifying

new brands for PC/Electronics (52%) and Beverage

Domestic Appliances (44%)

• Online brand or product reviews appear to be the

most influential in ruling out a brand

• For example, 49% in both PC/Electronics and

Beverage Domestic Appliances and 40% in

Winter Apparel

• Online brand or product reviews can also

impact retailer consideration with 33% of Winter

Apparel buyers reporting that the touchpoint

helped rule out a retailer

• In contrast, touchpoints generally have relatively

little influence on retailer consideration for Beauty

14


• Price/promotion and product information are

dominant motivators for touchpoint usage across all

categories

• Although shipping cost is particularly unique

and relevant for Online Retailers without a Store

Location

• Obviously wanting to see and touch the product

appears to be a significant motivator for an In-

Store visits across all categories

Overall, the pattern of results suggests that brands

and retailers will not optimize their sales without

thoughtful consideration of their footprint across

touchpoints

Strategies should be derived to reach and recruit

new consumers while satisfying their core

customer base


Executive Summary: Metrics at a Glance

16

5)

No. of Days Passed 18 20 7 22 22

No. of Brands in Mind 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.7

Bought the Brand

from Consideration

set (%)

No. of Retailers in

mind 2.2 1.9 1.4 2.0 2.1

Bought among

retailers first

considered (%)

74

51

72 78 70

Incidence of Planned

Purchasing (%)

73 72 88

81 81

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Influences on the purchase decision appear to impact purchasers of Winter Apparel and Personal

Accessories most, both index low on the rate of which the purchased brand was an originally

considered option. Beauty indexes low for both time passed before purchase and number of

retailers considered.

52 60 85 71 81

Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Base: Planned

Purchasers

Winter Apparel (698)

Personal

Accessory (555)

Beauty (699)

PC/ Electronics (793)

Beverage DA (592)

17

Usage of Touchpoints

Q.7 Which of the following sources of information, if any, did you use to inform

your purchase decision (where to buy it or what brand to buy)?

42

24

24

20

17

13

9

20

Winter Apparel

(698)

Personal

Accessory

(555)

Beauty

(699)

PC/

Electronics

(793)

Beverage DA

(592)

40

14

19

13

18

15

20

20

25

20

8

17

9

8

5

39

30

28

35

25

26

29

21

14

35

34

28

38

27

30

14

7

In-Store Displays, Product

Info, Store Associates

Retail Flyers

Store Websites

Word of Mouth

Recommendations

Brand or Manufacturer

Websites

Online Brand or Product

Reviews

Online Stores w/o Store

Locations or Auction Sites

None of the Above

%

Base: Planned purchasers

In-Store Touchpoints generally dominate although Store Websites for PC/Electronics and Word of

Mouth sources for Beverage Domestic Appliances are relied on more often.

Beauty customers are the least likely to utilize information sources to inform their purchase decision.

18

89

77

91

70

84


Personal

Accessory (555)

Beauty (699)


Beverage DA (592)

17

83

19

81

8

92

31

69

26

74

Online In-Store

11

23

9

30

16

Base: Planned Purchasers, Floating Base

Q.38 Did you buy it in-store or online?

Q.41 Did you consider making your purchase online?

Considered Online?

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Online Purchase

%

A clear majority of buyers from all product segments made their purchase In-store, most

noticeably 91% in Beauty, of which only 8% of in-store buyers even considered purchasing online.

Customers of PC/Electronics appear most likely to consider online purchases.

*Online indexes

high with males

and In-Store

indexes high with

respondents aged

55-64.

19

% Winter Apparel Personal

Accessories Beauty PC/Electronics Beverage DA

Base: In-store purchasers (622) (425) (635) (556) (499)

Want to see and touch the product 60 50 25 36 34

Risk/inconvenience with return 45 25 13 21 23

Didn't want to wait for delivery 22 20 32 34 29

Don't like to shop online 18 18 18 16 15

Shipping and handling costs 16 18 24 21 26

Prefer to talk to the store associates 13 14 9 21 11

Using credit card doesn't feel safe 11 13 10 11 13

I don't own a credit card 9 8 5 8 8

Online pricing was higher 8 9 6 8 16

Risk of losing the product in the mail 7 8 6 10 8

Not available online 4 6 5 2 3

Don't deliver to my area 1 2 1 1 3

No particular reason 6 12 16 10 6

Across all categories, the most significant barrier for purchasing from online is the need to see

and touch the product, followed by risk/inconvenience with return especially for Winter Apparel

and Person Accessories. The preference to talk to the store associates appears to be a barrier

particularly for PC/Electronics.


Understanding the Touchpoints -Winter Apparel

21

Bought a brand Among first considered

74% of purchases

are planned

18 Days passed between first thought

of buying product and making purchase

52

Bought at Retailer among first considered

73 1.4 2.2

Brands in mind

Retailers in mind

% %

Three quarters of purchases were planned and touchpoint influence appears to impact brand

consideration considerably more than retailer consideration. The purchase took place between 2-3

weeks after the first thought of buying the product.

Snapshot of Path to Purchase

Q.6 About how much time passed between the moment you first thought about

buying a [INSERT PRODUCT] and when you made the purchase?

Q.3 Please indicate whether you planned to purchase each product before you

visited the store (or website) or if you spontaneously decided to purchase the

product while you were shopping (online)

Q.4 How many brands, if any, did you have in mind when you first thought about

buying a [INSERT PRODUCT]?

Q5. And how many retailers (i.e., stores/websites), if any, did you have in mind

when you first thought about buying a [INSERT PRODUCT]?

Q.39 And was this store or online source among the ones

you had first considered when you started to think about


Q.40 And was the brand you bought among the ones you

had first considered when you started to think about


Base: Purchasers of

Winter Apparel, n=2,666

Base: Planned Purchasers

of Winter Apparel, n=698

22

In-Store

Displays,

Product Info,

Store

Associates

Retail Flyers Store Websites Word of Mouth Brand or

Manufacturer

Websites

Online Brand or

Product

Reviews

Online Stores

w/o Store

Locations or

Auction Sites

None of the

Above

42

24 24 20

17 13

9

20

Base: Planned Purchasers, n=698



Touchpoints Usage

%

In-store information sources are clearly the preferred touchpoint for the Winter Apparel segment,

capturing 42% usage. Retail Flyers and Store Websites trail significantly behind in second.

*Index high

among 55-64 *Index high

among 18-34

23

Not Helpful At All

Base: Touch point users

Q.10,14, 18, 23, 28, 33 How helpful was the information you found?

Word of

Mouth

(139)

Store

Websites

(170)

Brand or

Manufacturer

Websites

(118)

Online Brand

or Product

Reviews

(92*)

In-Store

(294)

Helpfulness

46 53

42 53 52

29 18

21

13 22

24 26

34 31

26

1 1

3 1

1 1 1

75

71

63

66 74

*Caution: Low base size; Online W/O Store Location is BTS, Not reported

%

Extremely Helpful

Very Helpful

Somewhat Helpful

Not Very Helpful

All touchpoints are considered helpful, especially Word of Mouth and In-store.

25

41

31

40

37

30

30

40

29

30

30

39

43

44

45

56

Impact on Brand Consideration

Identified additional brands Ruled out brands Didn’t learn anything new

Word of Mouth

(139)

Store Websites

(170)


Websites

(118)

Online Brand or

Product Reviews

(92*)

In-Store

(294)


Q.11, 15, 19, 24, 29, 34 Did you identify any brands worth considering that you hadn't

already considered or rule out any brands that you had already been considering?

%

*Caution: Low base size; Online W/O Store Location is BTS: Not reported

At 56%, Word of Mouth information appears the most likely to expand brand consideration and

Online Brand or Product Reviews appear the most likely cause for brands being ruled out, as

indicated by 40% users.

70

63

60

69

59

Total

Impact

26

62

42

41

36

35

24

33

26

33

25

18

38

43

41

48

Impact on Store/Website Consideration


Q.11, 15, 19, 24, 29, 34 Did you identify any stores or websites worth

considering that you hadn't already considered or rule out any stores or

websites that you had been considering already?


%

Word of Mouth

(139)

Store Websites

(170)


Websites

(118)

Online Brand or

Product Reviews

(92*)

In-Store

(294)

At 48%, Word of Mouth information appears the most likely to expand Store and Website

consideration.

65

64

59

58

38

Total

Impact

Identified additional stores/websites

Ruled out stores/websites Didn’t learn anything new

27

87

69

61

37

33


Q.13, 17, 22, 27, 31 What type of information did you look for on/in

[INSERT TOUCHPOINT]?

Prices, sales,

promotions

Product

information

Availability

Shipping costs

User reviews

%

Types of Information Sought After (Top 5)

Store Websites

(170)


Websites

(118)

Online Brand or

Product Reviews

(92*)

In-Store

(294)

Product

information

Prices, sales,

promotions

Availability

User reviews

Brand information


68

61

50

44

42

Product

information

Prices, sales,

promotions

Brand information

Availability

Just shopping around/

looking for ideas

77

67

51

38

16

Prices, sales,

promotions

Wanted to see/

touch product

Product

information

Recommendations

Return policy

79

67

50

23

23

Users of each touchpoint except In-Store information indicate product information and price

including sales and promotion as the top two types of information for research. A desire to

see/touch the item pushes product information to third place for In-Store users.

87% of customers who visit Store Websites are looking for price related information.

29

16 7

17 8

10 6

8 6

7 5

7 3

Pre In-Store Post In-Store

Store Websites

Retail Flyers

Word of Mouth

Brand or Manufacturing

Websites


Reviews

Online w/o Store

Location



Q.8 And in what order did you use these information sources?

38% don’t rely on In-Store touchpoints to inform their purchase decision. Among those who do, many

do not make a final purchase decision at this point and go on to explore other touchpoints.

Interestingly, those who rely on in-store touchpoints are significantly less likely to rely on the majority

of other touchpoints.

In-Store Visit

39

37

35

29

20

13

23

25

16

14

12

10

Didn’t rely on In-store

Information (n=263)

The in-store

visit is not

always the

final step in

the path to

purchase

38% Relied on In-store

Information (n=294) 42%

30

88

23

8

5

4

4

3

9

Talked to friend, family or coworkers

Facebook

Pinterest

Professional Blogs

Personal Blogs

Twitter

Discussion Forums

All Other Sources

Base: Word of Mouth users, n=139

Q.9 Which of these sources did you use word-of-mouth recommendations

on [INSERT PRODUCT]?

Digital NET =

30

Word of Mouth Usage

Information received by speaking directly to friends, family or coworkers (88%) was the dominant

source of influence among Word of Mouth users. Digital Word of Mouth sources were utilized by

30% of the users, clearly led by Facebook at 23%.

31

31

31

18

5

Base: Touch point non-users

Q.12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 35 Why didn’t you review any [INSERT TOUCHPOINT]

before buying your [INSERT PRODUCT]?

Just looked at options

In-Store

Relied on other types of

information

Information not helpful

Don’t know how to use

Word of Mouth

(418)

Store Websites

(387)

Brand or Manufacturer Websites

(439)

Usage Barriers (Top 5)

32

22

14

4

34

26

13

5


In-Store


information




In-Store


information



%

Consistent with In-store information sources being the most utilized touchpoints in the Winter

Apparel segment, non-users for 4 of the other 5 touchpoints indicate that they just looked at

options in-store as the main reason why the respective touchpoint was not utilized.

32

31

22

17

12

6

Won’t purchase this

product online


In-Store


information



24

21

20

16

4

62

35

9


In-Store


product online


information



Already knew what I was

going to buy


information

Didn’t visit any store

locations

% Online w/o Store Location

(494)

Online Brand or Product Reviews

(466)

In-Store

(263)




About one third report they won’t buy winter apparel products online as the main reason why not

researching online retailers without store locations.


33

- At 42%, In-store touchpoints are the most utilized information source by Winter Apparel buyers.

- All touchpoints are considered helpful, especially Word of Mouth and In-store.

- Word of Mouth information is the most impactful towards the expansion of both Brand and

Store/Website Consideration at 56% and 48% respectively.

- At 40%, Online Brand and Product Reviews index high for ruling out Brand Consideration.

- Users of each touchpoint indicate product information and price as the top two reasons for

touchpoint usage except for In-store users, in which the more intimate form of information

gathering through feel and touch pushes product research to third place.

- Those who rely on in-store touchpoints are significantly less likely to rely on the majority of other

touchpoints.

- Many In-Store touchpoint users do not make a final purchase decision at this point and go on to

explore other touchpoints.

- The main reason why In-Store touchpoints were not utilized was that In-Store information is

sufficient for their purchase decision.

Summary


Understanding the Touchpoints -Personal Accessory

35

Bought a brand Among first considered

51% of purchases

are planned



60 72 1.6 1.9

Brands in mind

Retailers in mind

% %

Half of purchases were planned and touchpoint influence appears to impact brand consideration

more than retailer consideration. The purchase took place roughly 3 weeks after the first thought

of buying the product.

















Base: Purchasers of





36

In-Store

Displays,

Product Info,

Store

Associates


Manufacturer

Websites

Online Brand or

Product

Reviews

Online Stores

w/o Store

Locations or

Auction Sites

None of the

Above

40

14 19

13 18

15 20 20

Touchpoints Usage

%

With 40% usage by Personal Accessories buyers, In-Store information sources are utilized by

about twice as many buyers as any particular digital touchpoint.

*Index high

among 18-34

*index high with

male respondents




37

56 50

36

54 52

21

19

29

17 17

20 27

30 22 27

2

4 5

6 3

1

1 1

1



Store

Websites

(104)

Brand or

Manufacturer

Websites

(101)

Online w/o

Store

Location

(112)

Online Brand

or Product

Reviews

(82*)

In-Store

(224)

77

69

65

71 69

*Caution: Low base size; Word of Mouth is BTS: Not reported

Helpfulness

%

Not Helpful At All

Not Very Helpful

Somewhat Helpful

Very Helpful

Extremely Helpful

All touchpoints are considered very helpful by the majority of the users. At 77%, Store Websites appear most helpful to informing the purchase decision of its respective users.

38

41

33

25

39

34

29

31

30

23

32

41

50

56

51

52


%





Store Websites

(104)


Websites

(101)

Online w/o Store

Location

(112)

Online Brand or

Product Reviews

(82*)

In-Store

(224)

About half of the digital touchpoint users report identifying additional brands to consider.

Identified additional brands Ruled out brands Didn’t learn anything new Total

Impact

66

61

75

67

59

39

61

39

38

41

31

23

36

33

30

31

20

31

38

40

50







%

Store Websites

(104)


Websites

(101)

Online w/o Store

Location

(112)

Online Brand or

Product Reviews

(82*)

In-Store

(224)

Users of Store Websites appear the most likely to identify additional stores or websites for

consideration.

Identified additional stores/websites


Total

Impact

69

59

62

61

39

40

74

61

48

40

39

Prices, sales,

promotions

Product information

Availability

Shipping costs

Brand information

69

63

47

39

35

66

64

44

41

36

Shipping costs

Prices, sales, promotions

Product information

User Reviews

Delivery times

% Store Websites

(104)


(101)

Online w/o Store Location

(112)

Prices, sales,

promotions

Product information

Brand information

Availability

User reviews




Word of Mouth is BTS: Not reported

Price is the most prevalent information being sought after, especially for Store Website and In-

Store visitors, as indicated by roughly three quarters of their respective users. Shipping costs narrowly supplant Price as the information most sought after at Online Stores w/o Store Location.


41

72

67

44

43

20

Product information

Prices, sales,

promotions

Availability

Brand information


looking for ideas

% Online Brand or Product Reviews

(82*)

In-Store

(224)

Prices, sales,

promotions

Wanted to see/ touch

product

Product information

Brand information

Return policy

76

60

46

28

28




*Caution: Low base size

Continued from previous slide…


42

9 7

8 7

10 9

6 5

6 7

11 7


Store Websites

Retail Flyers

Word of Mouth


Websites


Reviews

Online w/o Store

Location




40% don’t rely on In-Store touchpoints to inform their purchase decision. Among those who do, many

do not make a final purchase decision at this point and go on to explore other touchpoints. The usage

Store, Brand and Online w/o Store Location websites and online reviews are noticeably less utilized

by In-Store users.

In-Store Visit

28

17

21

30

26

35

16

15

19

11

13

18


Information (n=221)

The in-store

visit is not

always the

final step in

the path to

purchase



43

81

19

11

11

6

6

3

6


Facebook

Discussion Forums

Personal Blogs

Pinterest

Professional Blogs

Twitter

All Other Sources




Digital NET =

34

Word of Mouth Usage



source used by Word of Mouth Users. Digital Word of Mouth sources were utilized by 34% of the

users, clearly led by Facebook at 19%.

44

29

28

21

7


information


In-Store


Didn’t know how to use

Word of Mouth

(371)

Store Websites

(341)


(344)

27

25

16

5

33

24

17

5


In-Store


information




In-Store


information



%




Relying on other information sources and In-Store touchpoints being sufficient for information

gathering are the primary toughpoint usage barriers. One interesting exception is that two-thirds

of buyers who didn’t rely on In-Store touchpoints reported that their decision was already made.


45

67

26

11

25

22

21

14

7


In-Store


product online

Relied on other types on

information



23

21

18

13

6


going to buy


information


locations


(333)


(362)

In-Store

(221)


information


In-Store



product online







46

- With 40% usage, In-store touchpoints are the most utilized information sources by Personal

Accessories buyers.

- All touchpoints are deemed helpful, most significantly by 77% of Store Website users.

- At 50%, users of Store Websites are the most likely to identify additional stores or websites for

consideration.

- Price is generally the primary reason for touchpoint usage, especially for Store Website and In-

Store visitors.

- Four in 10 don’t rely on In-Store touchpoints to inform their purchase decision. Among those

who do, many do not make a final purchase decision at this point and go on to explore other

touchpoints.

- Relying on other information sources and In-Store touchpoints being sufficient for information

gathering are the primary toughpoint usage barriers. One interesting exception is that two-thirds

of buyers who didn’t rely on In-Store touchpoints reported that their decision was already made.

Summary


Understanding the Touchpoints -Beauty

48

Bought a brand among first considered

72% of purchases

are planned



85 88 1.6 1.4

Brands in mind

Retailers in mind

% %

Just under three quarters of purchases were planned and touchpoint influence appears to be

relatively minor on both brand and retailer consideration. The purchase took place roughly a week

after the first thought of buying the product.

















Base: Purchasers of





49

In-Store

Displays,

Product Info,

Store

Associates


Manufacturer

Websites

Online Brand or

Product

Reviews

Online Stores

w/o Store

Locations or

Auction Sites

None of the

Above

25 20

8

17

9 8 5

39

Touchpoints Usage

%

In no product segment is touchpoint usage less than in Beauty. At 25%, In-store information

sources are the most utilized.

*Index high among

female respondents

18-34 *Index high with female

respondents




50

Not Helpful At All


Q.10, 14, 18, 23, 28, 33 How helpful was the information you found?

Word of Mouth

(119)

In-Store

(174)

60 53

17

17

22 29

1 1

77

70

Store Websites, Brand Manufacturer Websites, Online W/O Store Location,

and Online Brand or Product Reviews are BTS: Not reported

Extremely Helpful

Very Helpful

Somewhat Helpful

Not Very Helpful

Helpfulness

%

At 77% and 70% respectively, both the Word of Mouth and In-Store touchpoints receive high

measures for helpfulness among their respective users.

51

30

33

29

31

52

50


Word of Mouth

(119)

In-Store

(174)




%



Word of Mouth and In-store touchpoints receive similar measures for both increasing and

decreasing brand consideration.


67

70

Total

Impact

52

65

57

20

19

18

31 Word of Mouth

(119)

In-Store

(174)








%

At 31%, Word of Mouth information appears the most likely to increase Store or Website

consideration.

Identified additional stores or websites


Total

Impact

43

35

53

%

In-Store

(174)

Prices, sales,

promotions


product

Product information

Recommendations

Brand information

68

45

43

33

32






Price appears to be the most predominant information sought after in an In-Store visit.


54

16 9

10 6

5 5

4 7

7 4

3 1


Store Websites

Retail Flyers

Word of Mouth


Websites


Reviews

Online w/o Store

Location




Just over one-third don’t rely on In-Store touchpoints to inform their purchase decision. Among

those who do, many do not make a final purchase decision at this point and go on to explore other

touchpoints. The use of In-Store touchpoints generally reduced the use of other touchpoints with the

exception of Store websites.

In-Store Visit

13

39

36

19

16

11

25

16

10

11

11

4


Information (n=252)

The in-store

visit is not

always the

final step in

the path to

purchase



55

88

16

6

6

3

2

1

9


Facebook

Personal Blogs

Professional Blogs

Pinterest

Discussion Forums

Twitter

All Other Sources




Digital NET =

23

Word of Mouth Usage


source among Word of Mouth users. Digital Word of Mouth sources were utilized by 23% of users,

clearly led by Facebook at 16%.

56

38

27

19

3


information


In-Store



Word of Mouth

(307)

Store Websites

(373)


(360)

34

25

12

2

32

25

13

2


information


In-Store




information


In-Store



%




Relying on other information sources is the primary barrier to touchpoint usage. One interesting

exception is that 78% of those who did not rely on In-Store information reported that their decision

was already made.


57

25

25

18

12

4


information


product online


In-Store



31

18

14

11

3

78

19

7


going to buy


information


locations


(392)


(368)

In-Store

(252)


information


In-Store


product online








58

- Touchpoints usage in Beauty was the lowest among all product categories explored. At 25%,

In-store information sources was the most utilized.

- At 77% and 70% respectively, both the Word of Mouth and In-Store touchpoints receive high

measures for helpfulness among their respective users.

- At 31%, Word of Mouth information appears the most likely to increase Store or Website

consideration.

- Price appears to be the most predominant reason why customers utilized In-Store information

sources.

- Only Retail flyers and Store Websites are noticeably affected by the presence of In-Store

touchpoints, utilization of both appear to increase in conjunction with an In-Store visit.

- Relying on other information sources is the primary barrier to touchpoint usage. One interesting

exception is that 78% of those who did not rely on In-Store information reported that their

decision was already made.

Summary


Understanding the Touchpoints -PC/ Electronics

60


78% of purchases

are planned



71 81 1.7 2.0

Brands in mind

Retailers in mind

% %

Just over 3 quarters of purchases were planned and touchpoint influence appears to impact brand

consideration a little more than retailer consideration. The purchase took place roughly 3 weeks

after the first thought of buying the product.

















Base: Purchasers of





61

In-Store

Displays,

Product Info,

Store

Associates


Manufacturer

Websites

Online Brand or

Product

Reviews

Online Stores

w/o Store

Locations or

Auction Sites

None of the

Above

30 28

35

25 26 29

21

14

Touchpoints Usage

%

At 35%, Store Websites appear to be the most utilized touchpoint among customer of

PC/Electronics. Usage levels for the remaining touchpoints are all within 10% of one another.

*Index high among male

respondents 55-64

*Index high with

male respondents




*Index high with

male respondents

62



Word of

Mouth

(201)

Store

Websites

(281)

Brand or

Manufacturer

Websites

(205)

Online

w/o

Store

Location

(165)

Online

Brand or

Product

Reviews

(230)

In-Store

(238)

Helpfulness

%

Not Helpful At All

Not Very Helpful

Extremely Helpful

Somewhat Helpful

Very Helpful

52 60

53 49 58

47

26 18

17 23 13

24

22 21 28 26 27 27

1

1 2 1 2 1

1 1

78 78

70 72 71

71

All touchpoints are deemed helpful by over 70% of their respective users. Store Websites and

Word of Mouth appear to be the most helpful, each capturing 78%.

63

33

29

36

32

29

37

31

49

35

40

39

38

47

43

46

42

52

38 Word of Mouth

(201)

Store Websites

(281)


Websites

(205)

Online w/o Store

Location

(165)

Online Brand or

Product Reviews

(230)

In-Store

(238)


%




Store Websites appear to increase brand consideration more than the other touchpoints. At 49%,

Online Brand and Product Reviews index high as touchpoints that rule out brands.

Total

Impact

63

71

68

64

71

67


64

56

50

43

44

41

54

27

33

37

36

41

20

22

27

30

28

31

32






%

Store Websites appear to rule out Store or Website Consideration more than the other touchpoints,

capturing 41% of users.

Word of Mouth

(201)

Store Websites

(281)


Websites

(205)

Online w/o Store

Location

(165)

Online Brand or

Product Reviews

(230)

In-Store

(238)

Total

Impact

46

59

56

57

50

44

Identified additional Stores or websites


65

86

67

57

49

45

Prices, sales,

promotions

Product information

Availability

User reviews

Brand information

63

59

43

41

31

84

62

61

52

37

Prices, sales,

promotions

Shipping costs

Product information

User Reviews

Brand information

% Store Websites

(281)


(205)


(165)

Product information

Prices, sales,

promotions

Brand information

User reviews

Availability




Information on Price is the overwhelming driver for usage among visitors of Store Websites,

Online Stores w/o Store Location and In-Store touchpoints. Customers who utilize Online Brand and Product Reviews index high in searching for product information.


66

84

64

53

38

13

Product information

Prices, sales,

promotions

Brand information

Availability


looking for ideas


(230)

In-Store

(238)

Prices, sales,

promotions


product

Product information

Recommendations

Brand information

80

57

53

36

33






67

27 11

23 9

15 8

25 10

22 7

10 8


Store Websites

Retail Flyers

Word of Mouth


Websites


Reviews

Online w/o Store

Location




56% don’t rely on in-store touchpoints to inform their purchase decision. Among those who do, the

utilization of other touchpoints can continue after the store visit, though In-Store touchpoints appear

relatively closer to the purchase decision for this product group. In-Store visits also appear to have

less impact on the use of other touchpoints overall.

In-Store Visit

43

32

30

33

35

27

38

32

23

35

29

18


Information (n=447)

The in-store

visit is not

always the

final step in

the path to

purchase



68

93

18

10

8

8

2

1

3


Facebook

Personal Blogs

Discussion Forums

Professional Blogs

Twitter

Pinterest

All Other Sources




Digital NET =

30

Word of Mouth Usage




69

Word of Mouth

(484)

Store Websites

(403)


(479)

40

24

23

2

43

26

21

2


information



In-Store



information


In-Store



%


information



In-Store


49

24

18

6




Touchpoint non-users generally indicated that they used other information sources. Interestingly,

62% of those who did not rely on In-Store information reported that they had already made their

purchase decision.


70

30

23

22

17

5


information


product online


In-Store



39

17

16

11

6

62

33

13


going to buy


information


locations


(520)


(454)

In-Store

(447)


information


In-Store



product online







71

- Touchpoint usage appears most balanced by PC/Electronics buyers. Store Websites are used

more than In-Store Visits.

- All touchpoints are deemed helpful by over 70% of their respective users. Store Websites and

Word of Mouth appear to be the most helpful, each capturing 78%.

- At 49%, Online Brand and Product Reviews index high as touchpoints that rule out brand

consideration. Store Websites appear to increase brand consideration and rule out retailer

consideration more than the other touchpoints.

- Information on Price is the overwhelming driver for the use of Store Websites, Online Stores w/o

Store Location and In-Store touchpoints. At 84%, customers who utilize online brand and

product reviews index high in searching for product information.

- 56% don’t rely on in-store touchpoints to inform their purchase decision. Among those who do,

the utilization of other touchpoints can continue after the store visit, though In-Store touchpoints

appear relatively closer to the purchase decision for this product group.

- Touchpoint non-users generally indicated that they used other information sources.

Interestingly, 62% of those who did not rely on In-Store information reported that they had

already made their purchase decision.

Summary


Understanding the Touchpoints - Beverage DA

73


70% of purchases

are planned



81 81 1.7 2.1

Brands in mind

Retailers in mind

% %

70% of purchases were planned and touchpoint influence appears to have a similar impact on

brand and retailer consideration. The purchase took place roughly 3 weeks after the first thought

of buying the product.

















Base: Purchasers of





74

In-Store

Displays,

Product Info,

Store

Associates


Manufacturer

Websites

Online Brand or

Product

Reviews

Online Stores

w/o Store

Locations or

Auction Sites

None of the

Above

35 34 28

38

27 30

14

7

Touchpoints Usage

%

Word of Mouth is used as frequently as In-Store Visits (even slightly more) to inform the purchase

decision. Touchpoint usage is fairly balanced among Beverage DA buyers with the exception of

Online Stores w/o Store Location.

*Index high with

female respondents

*Index high with male

respondents




75



Word of

Mouth

(222)

Store

Websites

(166)

Brand or

Manufacturer

Websites

(162)

Online

w/o

Store

Location

(81*)

Online

Brand or

Product

Reviews

(176)

In-Store

(205)


Not Helpful At All

Not Very Helpful

Somewhat Helpful

Very Helpful

Extremely Helpful 59

51 54 60 60 55

28

26 24 15 19 21

12 22 21 21 21 21 2

1 2 3 2

1

Helpfulness

%

87 77 78 75 79

76

No Product Segment received higher levels of touchpoint satisfaction than Beverage DA. At 87%,

Word of Mouth appears to be the most helpful source of information, while no touchpoint was

deemed helpful by less than 3 quarters of their respective users.

76

37

31

39

32

35

33

36

49

34

44

34

42

39

33

39

36

44

38


%





The addition of brands for consideration appears to be highest among Store Website Users. Online

Brand and Product Reviews index high for ruling out brands from consideration.

Identified additional brands Ruled out brands Didn’t learn anything new Total

Impact

67

65

68

61

69

63

Word of Mouth

(201)

Store Websites

(281)


Websites

(205)

Online w/o Store

Location

(165)

Online Brand or

Product Reviews

(230)

In-Store

(238)

77

54

50

34

41

32

44

29

31

42

36

40

29

24

28

30

33

34

33






%


Store Websites and Online Stores w/o Store Locations over-indexed for ruling out retailers.

Identified additional Stores or websites


Total

Impact

56

68

59

66

50

46

Word of Mouth

(201)

Store Websites

(281)


Websites

(205)

Online w/o Store

Location

(165)

Online Brand or

Product Reviews

(230)

In-Store

(238)

78

79

64

52

48

41

Prices, sales,

promotions

Product information

Availability

User reviews

Brand information

67

54

50

48

32

79

55

47

44

33

Prices, sales,

promotions

Shipping costs

Product information

User Reviews

Brand information

% Store Websites

(166)


(162)


(81*)

Product information

Prices, sales,

promotions

User reviews

Brand information

Availability





Information on Price indexes high as a reason for touchpoint utilization among users of Store

Websites, Online Stores w/o Store Location and In-Store touchpoints. Product information indexes

high with users of Brand and Manufacturing Websites and Online Brand and Product Reviews.


79

75

58

49

31

13

Product information

Prices, sales,

promotions

Brand information

Availability


looking for ideas


(176)

In-Store

(205)

Prices, sales,

promotions


product

Product information

Return policy

Recommendations

74

50

49

28

24






80

25 10

28 9

23 7

17 9

18 13

10 5


Store Websites

Retail Flyers

Word of Mouth


Websites


Reviews

Online w/o Store

Location




58% don’t rely on in-store touchpoints to inform their purchase decision. Among those who do, the

utilization of other touchpoints can continue beyond the store visit, though In-Store touchpoints

appear relatively closer to the purchase decision for this product group. The impact of using In-

Store information on other touchpoints appears negligible.

In-Store Visit

33

37

43

28

33

15

35

37

30

26

31

15


Information (n=347)

The in-store

visit is not

always the

final step in

the path to

purchase



81

89

19

8

5

4

2

1

7


Facebook

Discussion Forums

Personal Blogs

Professional Blogs

Pinterest

Twitter

All Other Sources




Digital NET =

32

Word of Mouth Usage




82

Word of Mouth

(329)

Store Websites

(386)


(390)

44

27

14

4

42

22

14

5


information

Just looked at the options

In-Store




information


In-Store



%


information



In-Store


46

20

16

7




The primary barrier to touchpoint use was that buyers used other information sources although

the majority of those who did not rely on In-Store touchpoints indicated that they had already

made their purchase decision.


83

33

28

17

13

6


information


product online


In-Store



39

21

14

13

8

69

32

7


going to buy


information


locations


(471)


(376)

In-Store

(347)


information


In-Store



product online







84

- Word of Mouth is used as frequently as In-Store Visits (even slightly more) to inform the

purchase decision. Touchpoint usage is fairly balanced among Beverage DA buyers with the

exception of Online Stores w/o Store Location.

- No product segment received higher endorsement of touchpoint helpfulness than Beverage DA,

led by Word of Mouth (87%).

- Store website usage was the most likely touchpoint to increase brand consideration and Online

Reviews appear the most likely to remove brands from consideration. Store Websites and

Online Stores w/o Store Location appear the most likely to rule out retailer consideration.

- Information on Price indexes high as a reason for touchpoint utilization among users of Store

Websites, Online Stores w/o Store Location and In-Store touchpoints. Product information

indexes high with users of Brand Websites and Online Reviews.

- 58% don’t rely on in-store touchpoints to inform their purchase decision. Among those who do,

the utilization of other touchpoints can continue beyond the store visit, though In-Store

touchpoints appear relatively closer to the purchase decision for this product group. The impact

of using In-Store information on other touchpoints appears negligible.

- The primary barrier to touchpoint use was that buyers used other information sources. The

majority of those who did not rely on In-Store touchpoints indicated that they had already made

their purchase decision.

Summary


Online Purchase, Consideration and In-Store Synergies

86

89

77

91

70

84


Personal

Accessory (555)

Beauty (699)


Beverage DA (592)

17

83

19

81

8

92

31

69

26

74

Online In-Store

11

23

9

30

16

Base: Planned Purchasers, Floating Base

Q.38 Did you buy it in-store or online?

Q.41 Did you consider making your purchase online?

Considered Online?

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Online Purchase

%

A clear majority of customers from all product segments made their purchase In-store, most

noticeably 91% of Beauty customers, of which only 8% even considered purchasing online.

Customers of PC/Electronics appear most likely to consider the online option.

*Online indexes

high with males

and In-Store

indexes high with

respondents aged

55-64.

87

% Winter Apparel Personal

Accessories Beauty PC/Electronics Beverage DA

Base: In-store purchasers (622) (425) (635) (556) (499)

Want to see and touch the product 60 50 25 36 34

Risk/inconvenience with return 45 25 13 21 23

Didn't want to wait for delivery 22 20 32 34 29

Don't like to shop online 18 18 18 16 15

Shipping and handling costs 16 18 24 21 26

Prefer to talk to the store associates 13 14 9 21 11

Using credit card doesn't feel safe 11 13 10 11 13

I don't own a credit card 9 8 5 8 8

Online pricing was higher 8 9 6 8 16

Risk of losing the product in the mail 7 8 6 10 8

Not available online 4 6 5 2 3

Don't deliver to my area 1 2 1 1 3

No particular reason 6 12 16 10 6

Across all categories, the most significant barrier for purchasing from online is the need to see

and touch the product, followed by risk/inconvenience with return especially for Winter Apparel

and Person Accessories. The preference to talk to the store associates appears to be a barrier

particularly for PC/Electronics while no particular reasons for Beauty

88

Interactive

Display

Order from

Store Website


Q.43 Would you like to see more of the stores that you shop at offer interactive

digital displays in-store (e.g., touch screen computers or tablets) so you could

learn more about their brands and products?

Q.44 Would you like to see more of the stores that you shop at allow you to

purchase products from their website as part of your in-store transaction, if they

didn't have your item, model, size or preferred colour in stock at the store?

73

69

66

76

78

% of Yes

Winter Apparel

(698)

Personal

Accessory

(555)

Beauty

(699)

PC/ Electronics

(793)

Beverage DA

(592)

53

58

52

66

71

In-Store Synergies

Interest in Interactive Displays and the option to Order from Store Websites while in-store is highest

among customers of PC/ Electronics and Beverage DA. Interest in both of these ideas is greater than

current digital touchpoint usage for all product groups, suggesting room for digital growth.

41

48

22

62

59

Digital

Users

Industries

Automotive

Beauty

Entertainment

Fashion

Food / Foodservice

Home

Office Supplies

Sports

Technology

Toys

Video Games

Wireless

Countries

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Brazil

Canada

China

France

Germany

Italy

Japan

Mexico

Netherlands

New Zealand

Poland

Portugal

Russia

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom

United States

Keep up with what’s new at The NPD Group.

Subscribe to our newsletter and other communications

by visiting npd.com and clicking “Subscribe.”

Thank You

consumer path to purchase - retail council of · to better understand the consumer path to purchase...

Documents