A discount extravaganza such as Black Friday once drew the masses to a select, favored retailer or two, often before dawn to ensure items were snagged before selling out. And while the November sales have grown to span a full weekend (and then some), Amazon Prime Day is rivaling its popularity — but falling short on consumer loyalty, according to new research.
Bazaarvoice, a provider of consumer-generated content, advertising and personalization solutions, recently conducted a study to examine the behavior of U.S. shoppers partaking in Amazon Prime Day. The platform reviewed the spending habits of 400 individuals in 2016 to learn if and how they shop with other online retailers despite the competitive sales available during Amazon Prime Day.
“As one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, many consumers discover and try new brands on Amazon Prime Day,” said Sara Spivey, chief marketing officer at Bazaarvoice. “But participation in Prime Day is not the only way for brands to get in front of online shoppers. As our study and network data show, consumers are researching and buying products across multiple online retailers on Prime Day and the availability of ratings and reviews across these retail channels can help inform and influence their purchase decisions.”
The investigation found that Prime Day inspires shoppers to peruse deals on other major online stores. “Seventy-six percent of Prime Day shoppers visit other major online stores to research product ratings and reviews before making a purchase on Amazon,” a report detailing the results said. The research found that 46 percent of online shoppers visited Wal-Mart, 45 percent went to consumer electronic web sites, 40 percent perused home improvement web sites and 39 percent went straight to brand web sites.
Price isn’t the only motivating factor in finalizing a purchase, Bazaarvoice’s research discovered. Consumers were highly influenced by product ratings and reviews, the report said.
“Nearly half (46 percent) of Prime Day shoppers are not likely to purchase a product if it does not have ratings and reviews. In fact, 56 percent of shoppers always read ratings and reviews before making a Prime Day purchase and 80 percent consider ratings and reviews important to their purchase decision,” the report said. “Additionally, 45 percent of shoppers will buy a product they have never heard of or used before based only on ratings and reviews.”
Though Amazon Prime Day might draw more consumers to the e-commerce space, it doesn’t necessarily mean that shoppers will remain loyal to the shopping behemoth. Nearly half (47 percent) of consumers in the market for home appliances will also visit Wal-Mart, the research found.
The report recommended brands up their visibility across online retail channels to secure the highest sales opportunities possible. What’s more, be sure that each product is accompanied by pertinent details and when possible, ratings and reviews.
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