The Australian Shoppers New Path To Purchase for eCommerce

This post has been superseded by a more recent post on Australian shopping trends. A few weeks ago, I attended a Google conference where I was presented with some startling facts about the online shoppers’ path to purchase. I’d seen the data before and whilst it made sense, it forced me to think more deeply about the topic. The one key fact that got to me was 59% of shoppers start their shopping journey on a mobile device.  That’s huge. I knew mobile was important. I knew that mobile smartphone penetration had grown from 50% to 65% in the space of one year.  I knew that mobile technology was (and is) disruptive. We have even been preaching to clients about the need for a mobile website (and the need to make sure it loads fast). But 59% – that’s a lot of shoppers. I know that there are still a heck of a lot of websites that are not yet optimised for mobile.  This a big deal. I wonder how many sales are lost on websites that are not yet optimised for mobile. Businesses should not just plan to make their website mobile – they need to start now! Smartphone penetration is high (and growing) – nearly two thirds of Australians now have smartphones. Consumers are using multiple screens in their path to purchase and mobile is the backbone to their path to purchase. Which brings me back to this presentation I attended. Central to presentation was the fact that shoppers are multi-screening.

So what is multi-screening?

Multi-screening is a concept where consumers (your prospects) spend most of their media time in front of a screen – be it a computer, smartphone, tablet or TV. In fact, 88% of our media time is screen based. The fact is, one device no longer commands our full attention. Consumers can and do use these devices simultaneously.

Key facts about multi-screening

• There are 2 modes of multi-screening – sequential screening where we move between devices and simultaneous screening were we use multiple screens at the same time
• The device we choose is driven by context – i.e. how much time we have, what we want to achieve and our location
• Computers keep us informed and productive, TV and Tablets keep us entertained and Smartphones keep us connected
• TV no longer commands our full attention as consumers will use screens simultaneously but TV can be a catalyst for search
• The portability of screens has empowered us to move easily from one device to another
• Our attention is split between different activities on each device
• We are multi-tasking and juggling different activities at the same time
• Smartphones are the most frequent companion device  – they have the highest number of users and are the most common starting post for activities.

What this means for online shoppers?

• 63% of consumers move from one screen to another while shopping
• 59% started their journey on a smartphone – 52% of them continued on a PC while 5% continued on a tablet
• 27% started their shopping journey on a PC – 19% continued on a smartphone while 8% continued on a tablet
• 14% started their journey on a tablet – 1% continued on smartphone while 13% continued on a PC

And when they move between devices:

• 54% search again on a second device
• 47% navigate directly to the website
• 28% via an email where they send a link to themselves

What multi-screening means for you?

• Having a website is not enough. Your website needs to be just easily viewable on a mobile phone as it is on a tablet or a computer.
• Your website needs to reflect the needs of your consumer on different devices AND in different contexts
• The use of multi-screening means you need to enable customers to save their shopping carts as their search between devices progresses.
• If you are advertising on television, it might be time to rethink your strategy and have an online strategy that supports your offline activity.