A survey of over 5,000 global consumers provides brands and retailers with actionable insights into when, where and how they shop online, ahead of the festive season
Melbourne, Australia. – September 21, 2022 – Rithum Corporation (NYSE: ECOM), a leading provider of cloud-based e-commerce solutions, today released the results of its 2022 E-Commerce Consumer Survey, which gauged the shopping behaviours of over 5,000 respondents in Australia, U.S. and Europe. The global survey found consumers in Australia trust a brand’s website and marketplaces for product research, with social media found to be the least trusted platform.
The results of the survey offer brands and retailers actionable insights into the current perspectives of online shoppers and found 50% of consumers in Australia trust a brand’s website or marketplaces (44%) for product research, compared to just 6% who trust social media.
Despite this lack of trust in social media, 29% of respondents said they discovered products through sites like Instagram and TikTok.
Survey participants shared their preferences for online marketplaces and retailer sites they visit to research and purchase products while weighing factors such as product selection and delivery methods. The survey results also revealed how inflation and rising costs are affecting consumer purchasing decisions and their priorities when conducting online research before or during an in-store shopping experience.
“To stay competitive and agile in this changing environment, brands and retailers must first understand how, where and why consumers are shopping,” said Mike Shapaker, chief marketing officer at Rithum. “These survey results provide valuable insights that will help empower sellers to gain strategies to help capture consumer attention as the festive season approaches.”
Key findings that emerged from this year’s survey data include:
- The majority of Australian consumers are shopping on more than one marketplace
- Retail Media ads are influencing consumer purchase decisions
- The 2022 festive season will continue to involve heavy online research and purchasing activity
Australian trends indicate shopping journeys involve more activity across retail sites and marketplaces
- 85% of global consumers use multiple digital touchpoints during their buying journey
- 75% of consumers tend to use multiple marketplaces on a regular basis for browsing, shopping or buying
- 20% of consumers regularly use three marketplaces on a regular basis for browsing, shopping or buying, and 16% use 4 or more
- 50% of consumers have purchased an item from a foreign retail site or marketplace in the past 12 months
- These purchases are more frequent among younger consumers (63% of 18- to 25-year-olds) than older consumers (32% of consumers aged 65+)
- 54% of Australian consumers have used click and collect in the past 12 months
Marketplaces are the most common channels to discover new products
- 88% of Australian consumers browse items on marketplaces or retail sites without the direct intention to purchase something
- 43% of Australian consumers “discovered” products they’ve purchased in the past 12 months by browsing marketplaces
Retail media advertising is becoming essential to increase product awareness
- 39% of Australian consumers have clicked on a sponsored or promoted ad that they saw on a marketplace or retail site in the past 12 months
- This activity is higher among younger shoppers (55% of consumers aged 18-25 and 48% of consumers aged 26-35)
- 28% of consumers have purchased an item on Amazon after seeing an ad for that product on Amazon
Google remains the top channel for product research in Australia
- In the past 12 months, consumers have researched products on these sites*
- Facebook: 41%
- Instagram: 28%
- Google: 85%
- Amazon: 56%
- eBay: 71%
Pricing is a major factor for Australian consumers before making a purchase:
- 86% of consumers usually compare prices before making a purchase
- 98% of consumers consider price a somewhat or very important factor in product selection
- 65% of consumers indicated their reason for researching products online before or during shopping in-store “often” involves checking prices
The 2022 Australian festive season will continue to involve heavy online research and purchasing activity:
- 84% of consumers plan to spend the same amount of time or more shopping for festive gifts online compared to last year
- 26% of 18- to 25-year-old consumers plan to conduct festive shopping research on social media sites
Click here to view the entire report of survey results.
Survey Methodology
Rithum commissioned leading research firm Dynata to survey 5,000 consumers in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Australia about their online shopping and research habits in 2022. Respondents, who ranged in ages from 18 to 65, were screened and sampled in partnership with Dynata. There were 1,000 respondents in the Australian segment.
To learn more about industry insights from this recent consumer survey, including holiday and category-specific results, view Rithum’s on-demand webinar.
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