Discovery, Differentiation and Discounts Drive Online and Offline Holiday Shoppers to Search

November 25, 2008

CHICAGO - Performics, a leading performance marketing agency, today released data illustrating purchasing behaviors, specific to search engine utilization, across seven consumer segments and ten product categories.

“Having an in-depth understanding of specific segments of online consumers and how they utilize search is critical for the development and execution of successful marketing campaigns,” said Michael Kahn, vice president, account management and marketing for Performics.  “This research offers savvy marketers multiple layers of information focused on some of the nation’s top product categories and dominant demographic segments, and provides insights to help them more effectively plan and execute their holiday campaigns in the challenging economy.”

Besides the economy, the calendar also raises the stakes this year for marketers to execute effective holiday season marketing efforts. Performics analyzed its annual Cyber Mondays data, which have shown a weekly online sales spike on Mondays throughout the holiday season for more than five years, and anticipates some changing dynamics unique to 2008 since the traditional Thanksgiving-to-Christmas holiday shopping season is shorter than in recent years. With only four weeks separating Thanksgiving and Christmas, Performics anticipates retailers will see a higher share of online sales happening earlier in the season. Cyber Monday One (December 1) and Cyber Monday Two (December 8) may command a greater share of online sales than they have in years past.

“If the shortened season concentrates sales earlier in December as we expect, it becomes more important than ever for marketers to engage their core target markets with search, both as a key strategy and a complement to other efforts,” added Kahn. “Our findings can help them do that.”

In collaboration with ROI Research, Performics surveyed 7,043 consumers on the role of search engines in their purchasing decisions and reported the findings within seven demographic segments:

• African Americans
• Baby Boomers
• 18-42 year olds
• Seniors
• Gays/Lesbians
• Hispanics-Latinos
• Tweens

Each consumer was questioned about using search across nine vertical product categories:

• Apparel
• Appliances
• Auto
• Consumer Package Goods
• Electronics
• Health Care
• Home Furnishings
• Telecommunications
• Travel
• Financial products and services

Survey findings illustrate key differences in how search is used in the purchase process, including:

• 81 percent of silver surfers (65 years and older) spend at least an hour/day on the Internet, utilizing search to find best prices and product information, but typically buying offline
• 89 percent of African-Americans spend at least an hour/day on the Internet, most often using search to find offline locations, especially for automotive and electronic purchases
• Baby boomers used search more than 75 percent of the time when purchasing automobiles, appliance and electronics
• Gays/lesbians, who reported more overall shopping than other demographic segments in nearly every product category, used search most often to shop for automotive, appliance and electronic products and services

“Consumers turn to search for different reasons,” said Kahn. “Online strategies from one marketer to the next can look like night and day depending on the verticals and target segments each needs to navigate. In some cases, consumers use search to buy; in others, it’s a research tool, often used to find offline retail locations.”

This online vs. offline dynamic emerged as a key theme. Some interesting findings include:

• Travel reigned as the top online product category, with 70 percent of respondents reporting making their last Travel purchase online
• Health care was the most dominant offline category, with 81 percent of consumers indicating their last purchase happened offline; yet 90 percent of respondents used search to research these purchases
• Use of search was split almost evenly across the seven segments for telecommunication purchases, and 39 percent made their purchases online
• Tweens were most likely to purchase apparel and electronics, but despite the notion that Tweens often “live” online, most make and recommend purchases offline

Performics and ROI Research sought to gain a deeper understanding of the influence of search on consumer purchasing behavior including how frequently consumers use search to gather product information, compare prices, and look for specific brands or retailers. The study also tracked key demographics such as income, education and media consumption patterns.

Complimentary copies of the segment and vertical studies are available upon request.

About Performics

At Performics, we create opportunities and drive success for more than 200 of the world’s top brands. Our innovative approach to paid and natural search as well as user experience, emerging media and digital strategy fully integrates all aspects of performance marketing program management from analytics and conversion optimization to tracking, reporting, and technology.

Our commitment is to deliver more qualified consumers and a better return on investment. Performics works diligently and efficiently on behalf of our clients to boost the effectiveness of their digital marketing efforts.

Headquartered in Chicago with offices around the world, Performics is the performance marketing expert inside Publicis Groupe’s Vivaki Nerve Center. Visit us: www.performics.com