The age of “care-free” shopping, when consumers simply went online and made a purchase, appears to be over, with most making multiple site visits and checking numerous reviews before committing to buy.
That is according to RTB House’s European Shopping Trends report, which surveyed 4,500 consumers across nine European countries, and explores how consumers make purchasing decisions across today’s increasingly complex shopping journey.
The findings reveal how rarely European shoppers commit to an immediate purchase. Across the nine markets surveyed, just 26% make a purchase on their first site visit, while 81% consider more than one brand before buying and 75% visit more than one website before buying.
More than half (51%) need two or three visits to the same website before buying, while 19% return four or five times, suggesting that for many consumers, leaving a retailer’s website is part of the decision-making process rather than the end of it.
The research also reveals how shoppers are more likely to want online ads that support discovery and brand consideration than remind them of products they have already seen.
More than a third (38%) of European shoppers say they like online ads to show them products they have never seen before and 33% want information about the brand rather than specific products, while 29% want to see products they have already viewed.
RTB House managing director Przemek Wyszynski said: “Our European Shopping Trends Report shows that consumers rarely make purchasing decisions in a single visit. They’re moving between websites, considering different brands and effectively building a shortlist before deciding what to buy.
“For retailers, a shopper leaving their website shouldn’t automatically be seen as a lost customer. They may still return to complete the purchase. The opportunity for brands is to stay relevant and front of mind throughout that journey, which requires a full-funnel approach, from discovery and brand building through to re-engagement and conversion.”
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