Digital shoppers are increasingly starting their product searches on retail marketplace platforms, which allow third-party merchants to sell goods, before looking on an individual retailer’s web site, according to a report released on Tuesday by Amazon.com and Pymnts.com. According to the survey, 64 percent of respondents said they start by searching for a product on a marketplace, followed by their favourite web sites, search engines and social media.
The survey polled more than 2,000 online shoppers in July. A majority of those polled cited trust in a retailer as the most important factor in determining where they ultimately make a purchase. The other factors included promotions, rewards, good buying experience on a website in the past, delivery and shipping.
Third-party marketplace business accounts for about 40 percent of total Amazon site sales.
