Lisa Bradner

MarketingCharts: Online Shoppers' Path to Purchase Becomes More Complex and Personal

February 13, 2013

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Seventy-three percent of online shoppers agree that their path to purchase is more complex and less direct than it used to be, according to an About.com study. Does it make sense to now liken the path to purchase to more of a loop than a straight line?      [more...]

In our research we define it as a flight map, but in either case the notion of the loop—that I go back to revisit sources for more information, to check prices, to look for inspiration—this is the reality of how shoppers shop. I think they always have, but the personalization and complexity has grown as the number of channels have expanded, and as devices like mobile phones bring together shopping and a deeply personal tool.

For e-commerce specifically, I believe it means transaction alone won't be enough. Sites will have to figure out how to combine the inspiration and idea generation of Pinterest with the recommendation engine of Amazon and the vignettes of a Net a Porter. Shoppers have always browsed—giving them more ways to do so and to push them from browsers into buyers will be a prime focus of e-commerce going forward.