In-Store Shopping Holds Strong with Consumer Electronics

Query Suggests In-Store Experience Can Be Complemented, Not Replaced

AUBURN HILLS, MI – August 4, 2010 – A June flashpoll reveals that while men and women are becoming increasingly comfortable using the Internet as a pre-purchase information source for consumer electronics products,* in-store retailers are still the mainstay for actual purchase activity. The Flash Poll/Conversation was conducted with shoppers age 20-65 in Gongos Research’s Consumer Village—an online research community of over 20,000 members.

Of the 300 community members polled, 25% have increased their use of the Internet for pre-purchase activities in the past year. They cite that they are drawn to “shop” the Internet for its:

Eighteen percent of those same men and women have increased their use of the Internet to make actual purchases of consumer electronics. Of those not purchasing more online since a year ago, they cite the following benefits to buying in-store:

“This snapshot study suggests an opportunity exists to create digital experiences that complement the in-store environment,” said Cheryl Halverson, Vice President, Retail & Services for Gongos Research. “Generating dynamic content such as third-party reviews, e-receipts and customized offers—will continue to drive overall customer loyalty.”

Gongos Research manages Consumer Village, its proprietary metaCommunity®— a large-scale community of targeted off-shoot communities used for qualitative and quantitative research. A Flash Poll/Conversation is an activity initiated in Consumer Village which enables clients to ask up to five questions in order to gain instant quantitative and qualitative insights.

*Consumer electronics product category chosen due to its potentially higher risk of migration to online purchases.