According to a recent Baynote study with the e-tailing group, analyzing consumer behavior across various retail channels during the 2012 holiday season, paper catalogs influenced twice as many consumers as both Pinterest and Twitter for both in-store and online purchases. Paper catalogs influenced 81.9% more in-store purchases and 42.9% more online purchases than Facebook.
Not surprisingly, social platforms were most influential to consumers between the ages of 25 and 34, while paper catalogs were most influential among consumers 45 years and older, but overall influence of social media platforms on holiday shoppers paled in comparison to the time-tested paper catalog, concludes the report.
Meanwhile, online marketing had a greater influence on online purchases than in-store purchases, though the difference was minor. Online ratings and reviews influenced 24.1% of in-store purchases while influencing 32.9% of online purchases. Twitter proved more influential for in-store purchases while Facebook and Pinterest were more influential for online purchases.
Consumer concerns over privacy did not significantly alter buying behavior. The survey found:
64.5% of respondents were concerned with privacy when using a smartphone
55.3% with personal computers
42.1% with tablets.
Only 15.3% of respondents abandoned their smartphones due to privacy concerns:
12.3% abandoned their personal computer
10.7% abandoned their tablet
The survey was administered to 1,000 consumers from Cyber Monday to Dec. 5, 2012. All respondents owned smartphones, and 54.6% owned tablets and were equally divided between male and female respondents. Only consumers who made four or more purchases and spent over $250 completed the survey.
