A quarter of shoppers always use Amazon for price comparison

New research has revealed that a quarter of shoppers always use the Amazon site for price comparison purposes – after visiting a brand’s own website. The findings, which are contained within Episerver’s Reimagining Commerce report, shed new light on consumer buying habits in 2019 and highlight the importance of a joined up customer experience.In addition to the quarter of shoppers who say that they use Amazon for price comparison purposes each time they buy something online, a further 44% say they often head to Amazon to do a price comparison after they find a product on an e-commerce website.Additional findings in the report also say that around 80% of website visitors will initially visit a brand’s own e-commerce website for research purposes; either to find products or compare items and prices.

The complex path to purchase Reimagining Commerce paints a very interesting picture of consumer behaviour and sheds new light on modern buying habits, as well as the path that online shoppers take before arriving at a product and retailer. The study concluded that 75% of online shoppers know what they want to purchase when they go online and have a plan of what they wish to buy but, the route towards the cash register is anything but straightforward.Shoppers tend to flip back and forth between a range of sites, including the brand’s own site, before they add to cart and checkout. With Amazon playing such a prominent role, it’s clear that investing in a user-friendly website with a distinct user experience and clear benefits is a good call. There are lots of ways to do just that of course and ensure that the consumer is convinced to buy from the brand rather than a third party marketplace. Things like free shipping, special deals, discounts, loyalty programs and bonuses such as exclusive content can all play a part in that and offer the shopper something from the brand that they won’t get from Amazon – that makes it much more likely that the brand website will be the final port of call, rather than a stopping off point on the path to the sale.It’s also worth keeping in mind that we are undoubtedly in a mobile age – and that means making sure ecommerce apps factor into this equation and offer an equally slick experience and benefits for those researching and conducting price comparison from a mobile device.