Shopping Bulleted List
Dissatisfying Experiences Personal
- For this question, we were particularly interested in why someone might leave a web site while shopping to visit some other site. Respondents could choose more than one answer for this question. The most common reasons for leaving was that the site was too slow, which was cited by half of the respondents (50%). Other common reasons for leaving were that the site was confusing (46%) or that they couldn't find what they were looking for (46%). Men seemed to experience more of these problems than women. Experts and those age 19-50 experienced them more than other groups, but the ranking of the problems is the same for all groups. Most likely, these groups experience more problems because they use the web for shopping more often than the other groups. This is one of the few questions that shows some differences between personal and professional shopping behaviors (See Dissatisfying Experiences - Professional.)
Dissatisfying Experiences Professional
- For this question, we were particularly interested in why someone might leave a web site while shopping to visit some other site. Respondents could choose more than one answer for this question. This is one of the few questions that shows some differences between personal and professional shopping behaviors (See Dissatisfying Experiences - Personal.) While speed alone was the main reason for leaving sites during personal searches, speed, having a confusing site, and not being able to find the information tie for the top reason at 28% for professional searches. Respondents from Europe cite not being able to find things as the main reason for leaving a site (49%). Experts rank the site being confusing and disorganized as the main reason for leaving (50%). In general, these results seem to indicate that when shopping for personal reasons, speed is more likely to be an issue than when shopping for professional reasons, but having a confusing site is always an issue.
Intentional Searches Personal
- As we might expect, currently most purchasing decisions are the result of intentional searches (60% "All" or "Most"). This presents an interesting challenge to retailers who rely on browsing and impulse buying for a large portion of their sales, as web sites don't seem to support these behaviors very well. In contrast, searching is easy to support, so most sites do. It remains to be seen whether users will take advantage of more light-weight browsing capabilities for shopping when they become available. Older users (31% "All") and more experienced users (32% "All") are even more search-oriented than other groups.
Intentional Searches Professional
- As with personal purchasing, most professional purchasing decisions are the result of intentional searches (35% "All" or "Most"). This is not that surprising in the case of professional purchasing, however, since we would expect that users have a particular need they are trying to fill. Groups which make more purchasing decisions based on web material are more likely to find that material through intentional searches.
Ordering on the Web Personal
- As we have seen in previous surveys that asked similar questions, searching for product information on the web is more common than ordering over the web. More than a quarter of respondents (27%) report that even after making a personal purchasing decision using web materials, they never place an order over the web. The same percentage have only placed an order a few times (27%). Even though European respondents tend to use the web less than US respondents for personal purchasing, they are more likely to order on the web once a product is found. Experts are more likely to order on the web, but most still only do it a few times (31%).
Ordering on the Web Professional
- As with most of the questions in this survey that deal with shopping on the web for professional reasons, most respondents chose "Not Applicable" or didn't answer the question (21% and 32% respectively). For those who did answer, the profile is similar to ordering for personal reasons. The largest category of users said that they never order on the web (17%) or have only done so a few times (13%). European respondents are more likely to have ordered on the web for both personal and professional reasons than US respondents. In general, those who tend to order for professional reasons also order for personal reasons.
Paying on the Web Personal
- Once a product for personal use has been ordered on the web, respondents fall into two different categories: those who always pay using the web (27%) and those who never pay using the web (27%). In addition to being more likely to order on the web, European users are also more likely to pay on the web. Experts are much more likely to always pay using the web (34%) than novices (19%). The picture changes dramatically, however, if the product being ordered is for professional reasons. (See: Paying on the Web - Professional)
Paying on the Web Professional
- For those who have ordered on the web for professional reasons, the largest category rarely, if ever, pay on the web (17%). In contrast to ordering for personal reasons, where respondents either always paid or never paid, few respondents say that they always pay when ordering for professional reasons (11%). (See: Paying on the Web - Personal)
Purchasing Decisions Personal
- For this question, we wanted to know how frequently information gathered on the web resulted in a purchasing decision for personal purchases. The largest category of users replied less than once per month (38%), followed by 1-3 times per month (29%). Interestingly, only 16% said they had never made a personal purchasing decision based primarily on web material (compare this to 21% who never made a professional purchasing decision: Purchasing Decisions - Professional). Those in the 26-50 age range use the web more frequently for purchasing decisions than other age groups (45% more than once a month). Use of the web for personal purchasing decisions noticeably increases with experience: 52% of experts more than once a month compared to 35% of novices.
Purchasing Decisions Professional
- For this question, we wanted to know how frequently information gathered on the web resulted in a purchasing decision for professional purchases. (See also: Purchasing Decisions - Personal). The largest category of users report that they have never made a professional purchasing decision based primarily on web material (21%). The next largest is less than once a month at 20%. European respondents are more likely to use the web for professional purchases than US respondents. Experts also make purchasing decisions based on web material more often than novices.
Reasons for Using the Web Personal
- For this question, respondents could choose more than one answer. The most cited reason for using the web for personal shopping was convenience (65%) followed by availability of vendor information (60%), no pressure from sales people (55%) and saving time (53%). Personalized services was not reason for using the web for most people (14%) which could be a result of unfamiliarity with personalized shopping services. It remains to be seen whether attitudes will change on this point as more personalized services become available. Males and females both ranked convenience first, but females slightly valued no pressure from salespeople (54%) over vendor information (51%). Experts and respondents age 19-50 were more enthusiastic about web shopping in all categories.
Reasons for Using the Web Professional
- For this question, respondents could choose more than one answer. For professional shopping, the availability of vendor information was the most cited reason for using the web (35%) followed by convenience (32%) and saving time (30%). Respondents from Europe and professionals were more favorable toward all reasons given than respondents in other groups, probably because they do more professional shopping on the web than other groups.
Success Rate Personal
- Respondents report that most of the time, they find what they're looking for (49%). The next largest group only find what they're looking for about half of the time (22%). European respondents report slightly less success in finding information as do users over age 50. Only 16% of experts always find what they're looking for and 13% of novices do, too. Although fewer respondents report using the web for professional shopping reasons, success rates are similar.
Success Rate Professional
- Although fewer respondents report using the web for professional shopping reasons, success rates are similar to those for personal searches. Searches seem to be generally successful with the largest category of users finding what they need most of the time (28%) and the next largest finding it half of the time (12%).
Time Spent Searching Personal
- The largest category of users spends between 5 and 15 minutes searching before they start finding useful information (40%). The next largest spends less than 5 minutes (24%). Experts tend to find things a bit faster (less than 5 minutes: 30% experts, 22% novices), but not much.
Time Spent Searching Professional
- As with searching for personal reasons, it takes most users 5-15 minutes
to start finding useful information (21%) when searching for professional reasons. European respondents report more professional use of the web and longer search times. Experts report more professional use than novices, but skill keep most searches to under 15 minutes.
Time to Give Up Personal
- The largest category of users give up a search for personal product information after about 15-30 minutes (33%). This is consistent with the question which asked how long it usually takes to start finding something useful to which most users replied 5-15 minutes. Just over a quarter of respondents (27%) are more persistent in searching, and don't give up before at least 30 minutes. European users report slightly shorter search times while women report slightly longer times. On average, the youngest users (10-18 years) spend the most time before giving up. Although fewer respondents search for professional reasons, those who do spend about the same amount of time before giving up.
Time to Give Up Professional
- A large percentage of users said that this question was not applicable to them. But, for those who answered, the distribution of times is similar to the question on personal use. The largest category of users spends 15-30 minutes before they give up a search (18%) with the next largest category spending 5-15 minutes (13%). Experts and respondents in the 19-50 age range are more likely to use the web for professional shopping than other groups.
Type of Information Personal
- For this question, respondents could check more than one answer. The kind of information most commonly sought out on the web is detailed information about the product or service (85%) followed by price information (75%). Closely following is availability information (71%). For all categories, a smaller percentage of European respondents report looking for that kind of information while a larger percentage of experts fall into each category (except location). European respondents are more likely to search the web for product information for professional reasons than personal reasons. Males are more likely to use the web for professional reasons than women, but they are equally likely to use it for personal shopping reasons.
Type of Information Professional
- Respondents could choose more than one answer for this question. Detailed information is the thing that most that most web users are looking for when they use the web for shopping regardless of whether its for professional or personal use. For professional use, availability (38%) and price information (37%) are almost equally sought after. European respondents are more likely to search the web for product information for professional reasons than personal reasons. Males are more likely to use the web for professional reasons than women, but they are equally likely to use it for personal shopping reasons. Experienced users seem more likely to use the web to search for product information, but they look for the same kinds of information as novices.
Visiting Web Sites of Stores Personal
- A question raised by retailers has been, "Do the same people visit our web site as visit our stores or is the web site reaching a different audience?" and we have started to answer that with this survey question. The largest set of respondents said that they sometimes visit web sites of stores they visit in person (for personal purchases) (39%) while just slightly fewer said that they never or rarely do (35%). Only 5% said that they stores they visit don't have web sites. A higher percentage of those in the 19-50 age group do visit the web sites of stores than older or younger users. Differences between experience levels are very small.
Visiting Web Sites of Stores Professional
- A question raised by retailers has been, "Do the same people visit our web site as visit our stores or is the web site reaching a different audience?" and we have started to answer that with this survey question. For professional purposes, as for personal purposes, the largest category of respondents said that they sometimes visit web sites of stores they visit in person (17%), but more said that they rarely or never visit them (30%).
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GVU's WWW Surveying Team |