Top search trends in consumer electronics

Consumer electronics is the largest search category in the UK, accounting for 29% of all searches. 

The study monitored 150,000 key words used by comScore's panel of 100,000 consumers and a survey of 754 people.

The survey categorised searches into three different retail groups: brown goods, portables and white goods.

Users looking for portable goods conduct an average of four searches before making a purchase while in the brown goods and white goods sectors, brands have fewer opportunities to engage with only two searches conducted before making a purchase.

Overall, only 2-6% of searchers purchase during the initial search while 14% of searches do not convert until the third month.

The importance of brand terms in search was particularly evident in the portables sector: Of all searches for portables 89% were for specific brands or products and only 11% for generic terms. In the brown goods and white goods sectors generic search terms were more frequently used (53% and 51% respectively).

Gavin Ailes, Deputy MD, The Search Works said: “The findings are particularly interesting in light of Google's trade marking policy changes as this research sheds some light on the types of companies that need to protect their brand and product names, and which should focus their resources on lead-generation rather than brand building.”   

Mark Rabe, vice president and managing director of Yahoo! UK sales adds: “Based on the findings of this research and our user insights, I’d recommend consumer electronics marketers ensure their keyword portfolio reflects the entire spectrum of consumer search terms – from generic to brand-specific. 

“Millions of consumers use Yahoo! as the essential starting point for their day online, so making sure we use any research we conduct to help our advertisers get maximum exposure to this audience is key.”

Other key findings from the research include:

• Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are when the majority of brown goods and portables searches occur while Sunday is the day when white goods searches peak.
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• Search is just as likely to result in an offline purchase (46%) as an online transaction (54%).
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• Of the generic search terms used “mobile phone” was the most popular. Other common terms include: “TV”, “MP3”, “digital camera” and “fridge freezer”.

“As retailers and FMCG brands prepare their marketing strategies for the Christmas season they must consider the buying patterns of consumers and look to shape their approach accordingly” continues Ailes. “This data confirms the importance of search in the research-purchase journey, but to harness its potential vendors must understand exactly how and when it is being used.”    

Source: www.comscore.com/boilerplate