Online visits drive sales of major appliances in stores

Consumers visiting appliance websites that have strong content and are easy to navigate are more likely to visit stores and make additional purchases, according to new research by J.D. Power. Appearance and speed are also contributing factors when it comes to the perceptions consumers develop about an appliance site’s usefulness.

The most important content on an appliance site are product reviews (69 percent) and pricing (64 percent), according to the study’s respondents. Retailer sites (77 percent) are the most likely place where consumers will research appliances compared to brand sites (57 percent) and search engines or portals (42 percent).

The retailer sites that respondents found most useful were Lowe’s, Best Buy and Home Depot. Lowe’s earned a score of five (among the best) by J.D. Power while Best Buy and Home Depot received fours (better than most).

Sears matched the industry average with a score of three while Costco and h.h. gregg received twos.

Home Depot mobile app

Source: homedepot.com

Consumers are much more likely to express satisfaction with an appliance site when using a desktop computer or laptop versus a mobile device. The biggest advantage consumers identify with computers vs. mobile devices is speed. There was a 20 percent gap between those expressing satisfaction with a desktop or laptop to access a retailer’s site versus those using mobile devices.

Despite the performance gap, appliance shoppers are increasingly using mobile devices to conduct their online research. The percentage of shoppers going the mobile route currently stands at 26 percent, up from 20 percent in 2013.

Consumers using mobile devices are more likely to use a mobile-enhanced website than an app when researching an appliance. Seventy-two percent who use retailer mobile sites do so to get price information, 70 percent to find a store’s location and 66 percent read reviews.

"The rising use of mobile is changing the appliance shopping experience. With a smartphone or tablet, shoppers can access and compare pricing while at a store and even locate another store," said Christina Cooley, director of home improvement industries at J.D. Power, in a statement. "Since satisfaction with websites via mobile lags satisfaction via desktop, in addition to considering content and ease of use, it is important brands and retailers consider how the appliance shopping experience is evolving and work to improve such aspects of the experience as speed."

BrainTrust

"This article highlights a perfect case of what most brick-and-mortar stores miss — shopping for a "considered purchase" is omnichannel. The actual consumer purchase is a process, not an event."

Chris Petersen, PhD.

President, Integrated Marketing Solutions


Discussion Questions

How do you see the way consumers shop for appliances changing over the next five years? What are the implications for retailers?

Poll

4 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Chris Petersen, PhD
Chris Petersen, PhD
8 years ago

Consumers have already changed how they shop for appliances as evidenced by this article!

For “considered purchases” today’s consumers spend a lot of time online researching features and value (price is part of the value equation). The more information the website can provide the better. Beyond photos, consumers crave video clips and animations demonstrating what the new technology means for them and their lifestyle.

The biggest thing retailers can do is start to enhance websites with rich content to get consumers to explore options beyond price. Since mobile is part of the shopping journey, websites and content have to be optimized to work on mobile screens. The journey online and mobile needs to be consistent with the store, and better if they all lead to a conversion process.

This article highlights a perfect case of what most brick-and-mortar stores miss — shopping for a “considered purchase” is omnichannel. The actual consumer purchase is a process, not an event.

Michael Day
Michael Day
8 years ago

The consumer driven change for retailers means continued convergence of physical store and web: Consumers doing more and more research online prior to going to the physical store and approaching the in-store experience as the final buying decision, etc. (with smartphone or tablet in hand).

Implication for retailers: If “strong content and ease of navigation” are the top priorities for consumers in terms of grading and using a retailer’s website, then those retailers with the average and below average scores should know with some clarity what to focus on to improve their lot in the days ahead.

Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly
8 years ago

In 1999, while I was CMO of Sears.com, we commerce-enabled the appliance category. That’s 16 years ago! That was revolutionary change.

Since then, both consumers and retailers have changed the way they buy and sell appliances.

Mobile greases the transaction by adding on-the-fly immediacy and helping to close the deal at point-of-sale. Now it’s evolutionary change.

Retailers that have learned to accept transparency and authenticity have picked up share.

Those that have not, lost share.

That’s why we like to say, “retail ain’t for sissies!”

Gordon Arnold
Gordon Arnold
8 years ago

As we move forward through the information age the IT data input challenges will remain similar for several more decades. Keeping product and services information accurate, up-to-date and relevant to consumer needs will never be more than half of the responsibilities needed for success. Site navigation will need to have a pilot assistance feature with software sensing capabilities which will be much like text message, spelling assistance and topographical navigation software combined with voice input/output features that are enhanced with instant language/dialect recognition.

This may sound like a lot to expect for the near future but the winners of the race will cash in all over the world and the world is now the new playing field for appliances and many other products.