Dive Brief:
- Digital commerce and content company Purch teamed up with comScore for research that tracked 3,000 technology purchases over 90 days across a number of data streams, including search, e-commerce, content and ad exposure.
- One finding from the study indicates marketers could improve their digital advertising strategy – 52% of ad impressions happened after the consumer already made their purchase.
- Tech media sites were the most-consumed content throughout the buyers’ journey, and reviews were read 80% more than tech news.
Dive Insight:
"The data showed a disconnect between when people are searching and when they’re being served ads. Search activity heats up in the 30 days leading up to a purchase, but more than half (52%) of ads are served to consumers post-purchase," Erin Kapczynski, vp of marketing at Purch, told Marketing Dive about the report.
Even though the report was limited to one product category, which included tech products such as mobile devices, tablets and wearables, it offers a deep insight into multiple data streams consumers engage with both pre- and post-purchase.
"The study definitely uncovered inefficiencies in retargeting, but those efforts aren’t all wasted. Serving ads to consumers who have already purchased can actually reinforce purchase decisions and improve brand lift. For consumers experiencing buyer’s remorse, it’s also an opportunity to poach potential customers from competitors," Kapczynski said.
She said the study also served to shed light on the importance of the key components of the purchase cycle, such as product reviews and news. "Along the same lines, while many people think consumers are bombarded with ads, most consumers who made a purchase were actually underserved relevant ads," she explained. For example, "39% consumers who purchased mobile phones and 49% who bought tablets didn’t see an ad."
And the study found that search on retailers’ sites became more important as the purchase neared its conclusion with 67% of searches taking place on those sites rather than through search engines the day of purchase.
Another key finding was Gen X accounted for the most purchases at 45%, but millennials spent an average of 8% more than older consumers.