How Many Customers Research Online Before Buying?

81% of Shoppers Conduct Online Research Before Purchase

GE Capital Retail Bank’s second annual Major Purchase Shopper Study has found that a growing number of consumers extensively research and compare prices and financing offers before making major purchases.

According to the study, 81% of consumers go online to find information and answer any questions about the product or service before heading out to the store to make a purchase.

And while this finding mainly refers to in-person purchases, a shift has occurred in the world of remote selling as well. An article about how to sell virtually states that as the world has changed towards a more digital approach, sales strategies and techniques must also shift to accommodate.

Sales Strategies and Techniques for Remote Selling

As the vast majority of prospects conduct online research before purchase, it is increasingly crucial for B2B companies to update their websites in order to best serve the prospects and leads as they conduct product research.

Some techniques around website design, in particular, include focusing on user experience so that visitors are able to navigate through the website with ease, including self-serve options and chats for customers, and providing explainer videos and product features to make it easy for prospects to comprehend the complex solution you are offering.

Additional sales techniques include utilizing sales technology such as digital sales rooms in order to enhance the sales process and provide potential customers with the information they need to make an informed decision.

Similarly to how a user-friendly and well-designed B2B website can help with product awareness, digital sales rooms can help companies and sales teams quickly create a comprehensive sales process for customers.

How Time and Finances Affect Purchase Decisions

The GE Capital Retail Bank study found that consumers spend an average of 79 days gathering information before making a major purchase. In this period of time, customers often compare prices and solutions of competitors, making this a crucial time for a B2B business to capture prospective customers’ attention and begin to build trust.

Additionally, the availability of financing options continues to be a key factor in a shopper’s choice, with nearly half of all shoppers researching payment options online. Financing influenced the decision to buy from a specific company for 77% of the surveyed individuals in the study, and nearly half would not have made the purchase or would have gone to a competitor if the financing was not available.

These findings indicate that having accurate pricing options on your B2B company website can greatly impact your remote selling success. If you offer a complex solution with very customizable pricing options, our pricing calculators would probably be an incredible asset in helping keep your website as optimized as possible.