While we continue to make a big deal out of the growth of online sales, it’s important to remember that 90% of consumer purchases are still made at a retail outlet. That doesn’t mean that online doesn’t have a huge influence – it does. Consumers still want the gratification of looking, touching and test-driving a product before paying for it.
ROBO isn’t new, but it is becoming the norm in consumers’ shopping journey and a big opportunity for brands and retailers to better understand exactly how their buyers shop.
What Does ROBO Stand For?
Research Online, Buy Offline
What is ROBO?
ROBO is a consumer behavior where they utilize consumer generated content like reviews, blog posts, and videos to assist in their purchase decision. Once decided, they do not purchase online – they visit a retail outlet and make the purchase.
Bazaarvoice researched consumer behavior from 20+ of the world’s leading retailers in North America, EMEA, and APAC, across 100’s of brands and categories to understand how often shoppers seek consumer-generated content (CGC) before buying online or in-store, and their infographic shares the findings, including:
- 39% of in-store buyers read online reviews before purchase
- 45-55% of in-store buyers read reviews of big-ticket technology items
- 58% of in-store buyers read reviews for health, fitness & beauty items
In fact, 54% of online buyers read reviews before a purchase The infographic details the differences in B2B and B2C reviews and breaks down the influence by product category.
Outstanding post!
Really, that info-graphic you provided was sufficient enough to understand how shoppers in these apply ROBO. This was too helpful.
Why?
Because I wasn’t aware at all that ROBO was turning out as a standard within consumers’ buying journey and a massive possibility with regards to brands and merchants having an objective of improving their understanding precisely in what way their purchasers carry ou the shopping.
Thanks a lot Douglas!
Much appreciated for such valuable info.
Cheers! 🙂