Amazon has released a report about how popular it is as a retail research tool for shoppers. In a report commissioned by Amazon Advertising undertaken by Comstore, they explain the critical role Amazon plays as an information source that informs buying decisions elsewhere online and from High Street retailers.
And whilst it does make for interesting reading, it’s well worth thinking about the source of the report. The Amazon Advertising division of the Seattle company is focussed on selling services that promote off-Amazon sales and other options that make a stack of money for Amazon and may not be entirely aligned to your interests as a merchant. We examined Amazon’s advertising opportunity in a recent post here.
According to the report:
- Two-thirds of TV purchasers said they used Amazon throughout their shopping journey, visiting the website and/or app an average of nearly 6 times.
- Shoppers researched an average of 2.8 brands on Amazon (31% looked at 2 brands; 60% looked at 3 or more brands).
- Shoppers who used Amazon read an average of 9.6 customer reviews during the shopping process (48% looked at 3 to 9 reviews; 37% looked at 10 or more reviews).
- 65% of shoppers cited the ability to compare prices across different TV brands and models as a top way that they used Amazon.
Shoppers use Amazon product detail pages and customer reviews to discover, research, and purchase products. While it makes sense that customers consider these product details and reviews important when they choose to buy on Amazon, these tools also help them make decisions when they shop elsewhere online or in physical stores.
Nearly all consumers who researched products on Amazon viewed more than one brand and read several customer reviews. Shoppers used the detailed product specifications to understand various features and to compare prices. One respondent said they used Amazon in the shopping process because of Amazon’s “unbiased reviews and huge variety of TVs to compare models and features.”
– Dave Martin, Amazon Advertising
Amazon loves being such a central resource because visits mean dollars for them even if the browsers don’t make a purchase on Amazon. But as a merchant that will likely delight you less. In particular, if you have taken the time to create listings yourself for private label sales or similar, then off-Amazon sales mean nothing comes your way.
But the Amazon Sponsored Products Ads service is something that you might want to utilise and promote your inventory across the Amazon site.
