Consumers Do Big Research for Big Purchases
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. CREDIT: Purchase Image via Shutterstock |
It turns out paying for that new stove, washing machine or television is actually the easy part. That’s because new research has found that it takes consumers an average of 76 days and several trips to different stores to make a decision when making a major purchase.
In the poll of more than 3,000 nationwide consumers, it was found that time spent researching products for a major purchase ranged from 38 days to 115 days. Major purchases included appliances, electronics, flooring, home furnishing, jewelry and others. Most often, the search for these products started online, but a vast majority of the time, 89 percent, it ended with a purchase made in a store.
"The findings indicate that consumers take a significant amount of time to plan and evaluate major purchases, with 61 percent starting with online research," said Toni White, chief marketing officer of GE Capital’s Retail Finance business. "The insights from this research can help our merchants, both big and small, build better businesses."
The research also found that shoppers visited between two and three online and brick-and-mortar stores on average before finally making a decision about their purchase. A majority of shoppers also had made up their mind on their payment choice before going to the store.
"This major purchase study also validates that financing continues to play a key role in helping consumers make their buying decisions across every category," said White. "Based on these findings, merchants can re-evaluate their sales training and marketing to better attract consumers and help them make informed choices."
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This research was based on responses from more than 3,000 shoppers who had recently made a purchase of $500 or more. The research was conducted by Rothstein Tauber for General Electric Capital's Retail Finance business.
Reach BusinessNewsDaily staff writer David Mielach at Dmielach@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @D_M89.