How to understand the elusive consumer journey

In a challenging economic climate, where inflation has reduced the purchasing power of nominal income, shopping behavior has shifted. Consumers are more cautious with their spending, leading to a longer decision-making process and increased sensitivity to price.

Capterra’s ‘Elusive Online Consumer’ study analyzed the online shopping behavior of more than 5,500 consumers across multiple countries to determine what affects the end-to-end customer journey from initial search to purchase.

Challenges of search engines

Globally, search engines are the primary destination where consumers begin their online search for products. Just over two-thirds (67%) of global consumers start their online search for products on search engines, followed by retailer websites (52%) and ecommerce marketplaces (46%).

Search engines are a traditional method of finding products or services online, which may indicate that consumers prefer tried and tested routes over other ways. While the favorability of search engines may also indicate their continued dominance as a source for discovery, consumers face many challenges when using these platforms to search for products or services online.

The top challenges relate to an overwhelming abundance of online search results that are difficult to navigate and refine. Survey participants cite the following challenges they have encountered with online product search results:

• Too many sponsored ads or results (52%)

• Inaccurate or irrelevant results (51%)

• Too many results (31%)

• Knowing which search terms to use (23%)

Social media shopping

Social media has a significant influence over many consumers’ purchase journeys, although it’s not typically the final destination for purchases. Three-in-10 (30%) global consumers who shop online begin their search for products on social media, indicating social media’s influence over how and what people search for. However, only 13 percent of consumers say they end up purchasing products on social media platforms.

Despite relatively low conversion rates on social media, more consumers who purchase on social media plan to increase their spending over the next 12 months (46%) compared to those who tend to buy on ecommerce marketplaces (33%), and retailer websites (27%).

Of the consumers that use social media to search for products online, the following social media platforms were most visited in the past 12 months:

• Instagram (77%)

• YouTube (67%)

• Facebook (59%)

• TikTok (41%)

• WhatsApp (34%)

The power of reviews

User reviews were cited by 57 percent of respondents as a motivating factor when buying new products or services online in the past 12 months, second only to price (59%). Consumers consider the following review attributes the most important when making a purchase:

• Number of negative reviews (61%)

• Number of positive reviews (59%)

• Images of the product (57%)

• Star rating (49%)

• Overall number of reviews (47%)

However, not all reviews have a positive impact on purchasing decisions. Consumers are wary of social media reviews that may be sponsored or biased. About three-quarters (76%) of respondents say they trust reviews made by social media users who are not influencers, compared to only 34 percent who trust product reviews made by influencers.

Additionally, nearly half of the respondents (48%) rate review websites as the most trustworthy source of reviews.

The fact that consumers seek out negative reviews ahead of positive reviews, coupled with the fact that they distrust reviews from people they don’t know, attributes to the prevalence of fake and disingenuous reviews that can be found on many different ecommerce platforms. As such, consumers have become more aware of which reviews they trust.

Evaluate the customer journey

The dynamic nature of customers’ online presence challenges businesses to implement a comprehensive marketing strategy that integrates various aspects of the customer experience. As the study shows, influences on purchase decisions vary across different purchasing channels.

A multi-faceted marketing approach is essential for retailers to properly target customers. Buyers have a dynamic psyche on preferences, whether on platforms or influences in purchase decisions. Businesses must bear in mind their target market and focus their efforts on optimizing brand visibility.