The study Consumer purchasing behavior in the age of digital consumers conducted by Valoria captures the virtualization of consumer habits correlated to the main stages of the buying process from the search, selection of information and purchasing decision to the purchasing experience, and the experience of post-purchase interactions. Taking into account the level of income of the respondents, the main conclusions of the study are:
Searching and selection of information
Advertisements on websites are most effective for consumers who have an income of 501-1000 euros (63%) and then for those with an income of 2500+ euros (58%), while advertisements on social networks are the most effective for consumers with an income of up to 500 euros (60%), followed by those with an income of 1001-1500 euros (53%). On these two segments are also effective ads on TV, but the percentages drop to 33% and 30% respectively.
Most consumers who consider online information as satisfactory about the services and products they want are those with a 501-1000 euro income (28%), and most of those who find it useless have a 1001- 1500 euros income (5%), as well as those with 1501-2500 euro income (5%).
Purchasing decision
The application interface and website design counts the most for 53% of respondents with 0-500 euro income. Communication on social media channels is very important for 38% of consumers with income of 501-1000 euro, and the personalization of products and services in the online and / or mobile environment influences the decision to buy online 41% of consumers with incomes over 2500 euro.
Beside price, brand and image are the factors that influence the purchasing decision of 17% of consumers with income over 2500 euros and 17% of those with income of 501-1001 euros. On the other hand, the technical characteristics influence the purchasing decision of 22% of consumers with income of 501-1000 euro and 19% of those with income of 1001-1500 euro.
The most affected by the quality and warranty of online products or services are 60% of consumers with revenues of 1501-2500 euros, followed by 33% of consumers with revenues of 0-500 euros. Those who declare themselves as little influenced by these aspects are 2% of buyers with incomes over 2500 euros.
54% of consumers with income of 1501-2500 euros are heavily influenced by the rating of the product or service they want to purchase, while at the opposite end, 13% of consumers with 0-500 euro incomes are those who said to be slightly influenced by this aspect.
Purchasing process
In the last 12 months, most consumers with over 2500 euro income (74%) purchased online clothing and footwear, 90% of those with income of 1501-2500 euros purchased electronics and home appliances, 31% of those with income of 1001-1500 euros purchased insurance products, and 10% of those with income of 501-1000 euros purchased medical services in this manner.
Mobile communication services are bought offline by most consumers with over 2500 euros (37%) of income, bank loans by those with income of 1501-2500 euros (21%), insurance by those with income of 1001-1500 euros (26%), and medical services by consumers with income of 501-1000 euro and those with incomes over 2500 euro (34% each).
61% of respondents say they are willing to pay more for a shorter time delivery, 55% for immediate availability, 47% for personalized products, 45% for premium services, 37% for innovative features, 36% for eco / bio / organic products , 28% for domestic products and 17% for luxury products.
Post-purchasing experience
For 44% of consumers with incomes over 2500 euro in post-purchase experience, the assistance provided during the warranty period counts, 37% of consumers with income of 1501-2500 euros appreciate customer support services, as much as 33% consumers with income of 1001-1500 euros.
All categories of consumers view social media feedback as a good mechanism to validate information in an objective manner, but 32% of those with income over 2500 euros consider it a new way to express their dissatisfaction , as well as 29% of those with income of 1501-2500 euros, 27% of those with income of 0-500 euros and 23% of those with income of 1001-1500 euros.
The distribution of responses based on the income level of the respondents shows that those most dissatisfied with the impact of their fedback are consumers with income of 1001-1500 euros and those with income over 2500 euros.
Cash on delivery or card based payments online sales volumes have grown a lot. Because it has a lower price advantage and one-click purchase, the online environment is increasingly gaining in the preferences of the Romanians. Searching and selecting information about the products of interest facilitates quick decision and leads the buying experience to another level. There are privileged categories of products purchased online, and yet traditional stores matter in making decisions based on direct interaction. If in the future the online store interface will contain haptic feedback then we may witness a retail revolution.
