Online Buyers Less Satisfied With In-Store Research

Tire Review reports news of a US study conducted by Forrester Research that suggests consumers who research products in stores before buying products on a retail website are less satisfied with the experience than consumers who do the opposite. The findings were based on online surveys of 4,723 US consumers conducted in August 2009.

While Forrester said the effect was more pronounced in the consumer electrics, apparel/footwear and cell phone/cell services categories, the study did point to issues brick-n-mortar stores have in meeting consumer expectations. Common problems for store-to-web shoppers included consumers’ inability to find the same product at the same price on retail websites after visiting a store. Consumers often complained they could not check for product availability within the store’s inventory, the lack of free shipping, and inconsistency in products names and models between a live store and a store website.