44% of consumers plan to shop online for food, beverages

According to a research by global information and measurement company Nielsen, more than 26 percent of global respondents have mentioned they plan to purchase food and beverage products via a computer, mobile phone or tablet, in the next three to six months.

The same source points out that other product categories with growing global purchase intent via an online connected device include skin care and cosmetics, which have risen three percentage points from 2010 to 25 percent, computer/game software, which have increased 18 percentage points to 29 percent, entertainment tickets which have grown 10 points to 30 percent; computer/game hardware have increased six points to 25 percent, video/music (CD, VCD, DVD) have risen five points to 23 percent, cars/motorcycles and accessories have increased four points to 11 percent and apparel/accessories/shoes/jewelry have jumped one point to 37 percent. Data indicates that 20 percent of consumers have also planned to purchase electronic books, digital newspaper and magazine subscriptions.

The Nielsen study reveals that 45 percent have used the internet to obtain information about a grocery product, 43 percent have searched for deals, 33 percent have read a grocery retailer’s promotional circular/flyer, 33 percent have looked for coupons, 26 percent have browsed a manufacturer website, 18 percent have provided feedback through social media and 11 percent have used a digital shopping list. Respondents from the Asia-Pacific region have declared they used the internet to conduct research (70 percent), compare prices (48 percent) and provide feedback through social media (26 percent). Latin American respondents were the most active deal seekers (64%) and manufacturer website browsers (41%) while more North Americans have looked for coupons online (43%) than respondents in any other region.