Internet Small Influence on Buying Choices

A new study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that the Internet has a comparatively small, indirect influence on consumers’ buying choices. Offline channels—such as sales personnel and advice from friends and family—wield a far larger influence.

The study looked at how U.S. consumers purchase music and mobile phones, as well as how they look for homes and apartments. The study found only about 10 percent of home and mobile phone buyers credited the Internet with having a major impact on their purchasing decision—and the number was even lower for music buyers, at 7 percent. Furthermore, only a small portion of each set of respondents actually make their purchases over the Internet: 22 percent of the music buyers, but only 12 percent of mobile phone buyers.

“The Internet is a tactical tool for shoppers who use it in product research, and usually not a game-changer in people’s purchasing decisions,” said the report’s author John B. Horrigan, in a statement. “Its impacts show up in efficiencies in the search process. Even for a digital product such as music, people more often than not buy in stores, not online.”

The study found 84 percent of music buyers find out about music from radio, TV, or movies, and 64 percent find out about music from friends and colleagues, where only 56 percent find out about music from online sources. Only 39 percent of mobile phone buyers use the Internet; instead, 46 percent just go to cell phone stores, and 59 percent ask an expert or salesperson for advice.

For folks seeking housing, the study found that the Internet makes it cheaper and more efficient for consumers to look for housing, with roughly half (49 percent) the real estate searchers using the Internet to get information. However, that information mostly supplements information gathered from agents, newspapers, and other offline means rather than replacing it—fully 49 percent also use newspapers, and 47 percent talk to an agent.

The study also found that while many consumers look at reviews and recommendations from other Internet users when perusing online listings, very few give back to the community and offer comments, reviews, or ratings of their own. Only 5 percent of music buyers post a rating or comment, and only 4 percent of real estate buyers and 3 percent of mobile phone buyers bother to post their thoughts.

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