In e-commerce, product research is what we call the actions of searching, analyzing characteristics, advantages, disadvantages and prices of products carried out by consumers before making a purchase. In general, these actions can occur on channels such as Google, within an online store or on social networks, for example.
In any case, the search for products encompasses the first three stages of the Customer Journey . That is, the stages of Awareness , Consideration, and Intention. To be more precise, it occurs primarily in the Intention phase, which is when consumers already know what problem they need to solve and what type of product can solve it.
In this context, consumers can use one or more channels to discover products. However, most still prefer Google. Soon after, you will find out which channels, in addition to Google, are also used for the purpose. Keep reading and stay informed!
MAIN PRODUCT RESEARCH CHANNELS
According to the study “ E-commerce Trends 2024 ” conducted by Octadesck in partnership with Opinion Box:
- 61% of the more than 2 thousand consumers interviewed search for products on Google;
- 47% search in the online store or application where they intend to buy;
- 40% prefer to search for products in several stores they already know;
- 28% search on price comparison sites such as Zoom or Buscapé, for example;
- 27% carry out product research on complaint and brand reputation sites such as "Reclame Aqui";
- 17% like to search on YouTube;
- 15% ask for a recommendation from a friend or family member;
- 14% prefer to search directly on Instagram;
- 5% research products on Facebook;
- 4% search for products on TikTok;
- 1% searches on other channels.
As you can see, in addition to Google, online stores are also widely used by consumers to research products. Furthermore, social networks, the subject of the next topic, play a fundamental role in this regard. Find out more about this below!
PRODUCT SEARCH ON SOCIAL MEDIA
According to the “E-commerce Trends 2024” report, 65% of consumers are in the habit of searching for products on social media and 35% are not. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning, 24% say they also use social networks to make purchases. Of consumers who use social media:
- 67% prefer Instagram to research products;
- 51% search on YouTube;
- 37% like Facebook more;
- 13% carry out product research on TikTok;
- 12% use Pinterest;
- 6% prefer to use Twitter (X).
Finally, 69% of consumers interviewed revealed that they have already purchased products they saw in advertisements on social networks. For these and other reasons, it may be worth maintaining pages on social networks such as Facebook and Instagram, for example, and channels on video platforms such as YouTube.
SOLUTIONS
Considering that consumers like to research products, you, as a retailer or wholesaler operating in e-commerce, should use this to your advantage. To do so, it's important to invest primarily in SEO to position your online store's sales pages in the top 3 of Google's SERPs . A good way to do this is to use a CMS like deco.cx , for example, which allows you to improve the loading speed of your pages, thus improving their ranking in the SERPs.
You can also improve the images on your e-commerce site and thus optimize visual search. According to an infographic from Invesp , more than 50% of consumers say that visual information is more important than text when shopping online. Voice search is also important. According to data cited by Ready Cloud , 71% of wearable device owners predict they will do more voice searches in the future.
Furthermore, it's crucial to improve your online store's search system. Indeed, implementing an intelligent search system like VTEX Intelligent Search , which features resources such as autocomplete, context-based merchandising , and faceted search, might be a good idea.
Last but not least, organize your social networks better. Publish posts regularly, work with paid ads and respond to consumer queries quickly. This will certainly help you generate more leads and customers for your business.
SUPPORT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PRODUCT SEARCH RESOURCES IN E-COMMERCE
If you need help optimizing product search on your e-commerce site, contact e-Plus Agency for support. e-Plus Agency offers SEO and Digital Marketing services; as well as creation, migration, redesign , management, promotion, consulting, advisory services, and training in e-commerce. It is an agency specializing in VTEX and deco.cx, among other technologies. To hire us, click the button below and start a conversation with our team right now:
