U.S. Shoppers Use Internet As Part of Shopping Process
By Anna Johnson on November 30th, 2010The results of a recent Harris Poll suggest that U.S. consumers are increasingly using the Internet as part of the shopping process.
In its online survey of 2,258 adults in September 2010, Harris Interactive found that, over the past year, nearly a quarter (24 percent) had increased the time they spent shopping online, as well as the time they spent reading product reviews (25 percent).
Younger adults were most likely to have increased the time they spent online for shopping. 30 percent of adults aged 18-34 years had spent more time shopping online and 28 percent had spent more time reading online product reviews. 22 percent of adults aged 55+ had increased the time they spent shopping online and 22 percent had spent more time reading online product reviews.
Not only are Americans spending more time on the Internet for shopping and reading product reviews, but they’re also using social media to share and receive opinions about what to (or not to) buy.
Harris Interactive found that 60 percent of adult Internet users valued the opinions other people share on social media, while 28 percent said they used social media to express their own views about a company, brand or product.
