An astonishing 77% of shoppers use a mobile device for product research while shopping in-store, according to a recent consumer study.
This compares to only 35% of shoppers who speak to a salesperson to obtain product information, says Salsify Consumer Research, which conducted the second annual consumer behavior survey. Salsify is the supplier of a product content management platform for distributed commerce.
In addition, 87% of consumers report that accurate, rich, and complete product content is very important when deciding what to buy, the company notes.
"Consumers are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to answer product-related questions, like price and availability, while they shop," said Jason Purcell, CEO and co-founder of Salsify.
"This year's research again demonstrates just how critical it is for every brand and retailer to have a systematized approach to maintain robust and relevant digital content to retain shopper attention and win sales," he adds.
The poll also finds that inaccurate product content leads to costly returns and customer churn: 50% of shoppers have returned an item they bought online because it did not match the product description, while 54% of those who returned items are less likely to buy from that vendor again.
Shoppers say they need robust product content: 70% of shoppers need to see at least three product images and 86% want to read at least three product reviews before purchasing a product.
Also, 87% begin shopping on Amazon or Google. Brands and retailers have a tremendous opportunity to win sales by improving product data on Google, Salsify says. Only 4% of consumers who start on Amazon will buy somewhere else, but 38% who search on Google buy from a different retailer.