Product searches are increasingly starting on retailers and brands’ websites

Years of investing in improving the user experience is making an impact: More and more consumers are turning directly to a retailer or manufacturer’s website when looking for information about a product, rather than first starting a search on Google or in the marketplace. This is one of the central findings of the “Shopper Story 2022 Germany” study, now presented by Criteo, an e-commerce service provider.

The relationship between search engine and direct entry is inverse

Accordingly, online stores operated by retailers and brands are playing an increasingly important role for consumers who already know what they want to buy. 30% See here first for information on the desired product. In 2019, that percentage was still 22%. This reversed the relationship to search through a search engine. Currently, 22 percent still use search engines for this purpose, compared to 31 percent two years ago. A similar picture emerges when consumers only know what kind of product they want to buy. 26 percent start searching for their products directly in online stores (2019: 19 percent), 23 percent in search engines (2019: 33 percent).

Overall, the study, in which nearly 1,000 online shoppers were asked about their search and buying behavior, paints a positive picture in terms of customer satisfaction: 72 percent of consumers said they wrote a positive review in the past six months because of a good customer experience that increases by 10 percent. for 2019. Meanwhile, the number of those who wrote a negative review fell from 65 percent to 54 percent.

Easy ordering, no shipping costs

According to Criteo, whether a search for information is followed by an order depends on a number of factors: 54 percent of those surveyed found it important to place an order quickly and easily, with 51 percent paying no shipping costs. 49 percent of those surveyed were open to special offers and discounts.

On the other hand, having a dedicated shopping app from a retailer or brand seems less important: only 19 percent consider the app very important in this context.