What’s Drawing Consumers to Brand Sites?

A survey of online shoppers found widespread use of brand manufacturers’ websites—with millennials more likely than average to frequent brand sites.

The online survey from Astound Commerce was limited to US consumers who shop online and had visited a brand manufacturer website in June 2017. It found that 58% of the respondents said they had visited more than five brand manufacturer sites in the past six months. Fully 30% had visited more than 10.

Among millennials, two-thirds visited five or more brand manufacturer websites compared to 53% of non-millennials. And millennials were more likely to have made a purchase in just about every product category included in the survey, from apparel to sporting goods. “Food and gifts” was the only category where nonmillennials were more likely to have made a purchase.

An Adobe October 2016 study among internet users from select counties found that 55% of US consumers won’t purchase from a brand if its website/mobile experience is poorly designed.

The Astound survey dug into the site qualities desired by consumers and found shoppers looking for a fairly predictable set of tools, whether associated with product discoverability or sizing. There was also considerable interest in virtual reality tools.

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It also asked shoppers what influenced them to visit brand sites, and found a wide range of responses, both online and off.

Social and search ads were the most common responses, but offline influences included recommendations from family and friends, TV and radio, and in-store visits, among others.

Courtesy of eMarketer