Comparison shopping websites on top of e-shoppers purchase behaviour - report

Moreover, three out of five Europeans use the internet in the buying process. At various online sources, they compare products, prices and features that are relevant for their purchasing decisions, according to the Consumer Barometer Survey issued by Google, ecommercenews.eu reports.

As a source of pre-purchase information, the internet has become an important and dominant medium. But, at the same time, internet also became a key driver of sales in traditional channels. “In the future its impact will be even greater considering the development of mobile access and applications”, says Ceneje, a comparison shopping engine from Slovenia, the source cites.

In some places in Europe, comparison shopping engines have become an even more important source of information than the retailers’ own websites. For example, in the category “Televisions”, 41% of internet users in the Czech searched for information on a brand’s website, while 29% did this on comparison engines. The retailer’s website was less popular, as it was being used by 26%.

In Germany, it seems that comparison shopping engines are even more popular among consumers, as it was being used by one in three internet users. Brand websites (28%) and retailer websites (27%) are shown to be a less popular research method. In Slovenia, brand websites are the most dominant option (47%), followed by comparison sites (26%) and retailer websites (25%).

For consumers, comparison shopping engines have become one of the most important sources in the buying decision process. “This is because they enable consumers to compare different offers based on their technical characteristics and price so they can make the best shopping decisions”, the Slovenian company says.

“And comparison platforms represent a key source of quality leads both for online retailers and retailers, whose primary focus is in physical stores. However, retailers whose only focus is in physical stores and thus don’t provide any information about products and offers online, are losing an important part of potential consumers that make a key part of the purchasing decisions on the internet, but then want to buy products in traditional sales channels.”, the source cites.

Also, comparison platforms are said to offer deep insight into buying behavior, because these websites have access to information about the consumer’s behavior during different phases of the buying process, which trends are in demand, price positioning and more. “Another important advantage is that comparison sites offer retailers an organized channel to compete in a more transparent way. They also enable the growth of smaller retailers that may have high entry barriers and less opportunities to start a business.”, the source cites.