Study: The virtualization of shopping in Romania and changes in consumer behavior

Aurel Dragan 15/01/2019 | 13:22

The online and online shopping has changed consumer behavior, but the influence that online commercials have on buyers is different based on the level of income. Also, the interface and the design of the site matters when a buying decision is made.

Valoria’s Consumer Purchasing Behavior study captures the virtualization of consumer habits based on the main stages of the buying process from search, selection of information and purchasing decisions to the experience of the buying process, and the experience of post- buying. Taking into account the level of income of the respondents, the main conclusions of the study are:

Searching for and selecting information

Advertisements on websites are most effective for consumers who have an income of EUR 501-1,000 (63 percent) and then for those with an income of over EUR 2500 (58 percent), while advertisements on social networks are the most effective for consumers with an income of up to 500 euros (60 percent), followed by those with an income of EUR 1,001-1,500 (53 percent). On these two segments are also ads on TV, but the percentages drop to 33 percent and 30 percent respectively.

Most consumers who consider online information about the services and products they want to be satisfactory are those with a EUR 501-1,000 income (28 percent), and most of those who find it useless are those with a EUR 1,001- 1,500 (5 percent), as well as those with income of EUR 1,501-2,500 (5 percent).

Purchase decision

The application interface and website design counts the most for 53 percent of respondents with EUR 0-500 incomes. Communication on social media channels is very important for 38 percent of consumers with revenues of EUR 501-1,000, and the personalization of products and services in the online and / or mobile environment influences the decision to buy online 41 percent of consumers with incomes over EUR 2,500.

Apart from price, brand and image are the factors that influence the purchasing decision of 17 percent of consumers with incomes over EUR 2,500 euros and 17 percent of those with income of EUR 501-1,001. On the other hand, the technical characteristics influence the purchasing decision of 22 percent of consumers with income of EUR 501-1,000 and 19 percent of those with incomes of EUR 1,001-1,500.

The most affected by the quality and guarantee of online products or services are 60 percent of consumers with revenues of EUR 1,501-2,500, followed by 33 percent of consumers with revenues of EUR 0-500 euros. Those who declare little influenced by these issues are 2 percent of buyers with incomes over EUR 2,500.

54 percent of consumers with income of EUR 1,501-2,500 are heavily influenced by the rating of the product or service they want to purchase, while at the opposite end, 13 percent of consumers with EUR 0-500 incomes are which is said to be slightly influenced by this aspect.

The buying process

In the last 12 months, most consumers with over EUR 2,500 euro income (74 percent) bought online clothing and footwear, EUR 90 percent of those with income of EUR 1,501-2,500 bought electronics and home appliances, 31 percent of those with income of EUR 1,001-1,500 bought insurance products, and 10 percent of those with income of EUR 501-1,000 bought medical services in this way.

Mobile telephony services are bought offline by most consumers with over EUR 2,500 (37 percent) of income, bank loans to those with income of EUR 1,501-2,500 euros (21 percent), insurance for those with income of EUR 1,001-1,500 (26 percent), and medical services by consumers with income of EUR 501-1,000 and those with incomes over EUR 2,500 (34 percent each).

61 percent of respondents say they are willing to pay more for fast delivery times, 55 percent for immediate availability, 47 percent for personalized products, 45 percent for premium services, 37 percent for innovative features, 36 percent for eco / bio / organic products, 28 percent for domestic products and 17 percent for luxury products.

Post-purchase experience

For 44 percent of consumers with incomes over EUR 2,500 in post-purchase experience, the assistance provided during the warranty period counts, 37 percent of consumers with income of EUR 1,501-2,500 appreciate customer support services, as much as 33 percent consumers with incomes of EUR 1,001-1,500.

All categories of consumers view social media feedback as a good mechanism to validate information in an objective manner, but 32 percent of those with income over EUR 2,500 consider it a new way to express their dissatisfaction, as well as 29 percent of those with income of EUR 1,501-2,500, 27 percent of those with income of EUR 0-500 and 23 percent of those with income of EUR 1,001-1,500.

The distribution of responses based on the income level of the respondents shows that those most dissatisfied with the impact of their feedback are consumers with income of EUR 1,001-1,500 and those with incomes over EUR 2,500.

Paid reimbursement or card purchases online volume had grown a lot. Because it has lower price advantage and one-click purchase, the online environment is increasingly gaining in the preferences of the Romanians. Searching for and selecting information about the products of interest facilitates quick decision and leads the buying experience to another level. There are privileged categories of products to buy online, and yet traditional stores matter in making decisions based on direct interaction. If in the future the online store interface will contain tactile feedback then we may witness a retail revolution.

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