Meet Social Shoppers (and see what they look like on both sides of the computer screen) Online Community Unconference East 2009, New York

Social Shoppers: Consumers in Control Online Word-of-Mouth is a powerful medium that gives “power to isolated consumers” and allows for a “boundless dialogue” with a unlimited number of other consumers (Bernd Stauss, Global Word of Mouth , 1997)

Social Shoppers: Consumers in Control chowhound.com (food, wine, restaurants) yelp.com (places, services) epinions.com (anything) rateitall.com (anything) qype (places) riffs.com (anything ) vanno.com (companies, brands) dishola.com (food) Jyte.com (anything) bestuff! (anything ) trusty’s (services) Zeer.com (groceries) cnet.com (technology/electronics) Zunepoint.com (Zune MP3 player) Measuredup.com (customer service)

Online Shoppers Segmentation: Background Who are these “Social Shoppers” and how social shopping is related to other dimensions of online shopping? In this study, we looked at social shopping in the context of online shopping styles, attitudes and habits

Who are these “Social Shoppers” and how social shopping is related to other dimensions of online shopping?

In this study, we looked at social shopping in the context of online shopping styles, attitudes and habits

Online Shoppers Segmentation: Background “ Online Shopping Attitudes and Habits” battery: 22 items (asked only if person purchased anything online in last 30 days) 22 items that measure 10 dimensions: Trust and usage of online reviews by other consumers Brand advocacy Submitting reviews/rating products online Convenience of shopping online vs. offline Preferences for online auctions vs. fixed price Comparing prices across vendors Trust in product recommendations by site/online vendor Importance of “feeling” (touching, trying) things before buying them Preferences for purchasing previously used vs. new items Loyalty to certain online shopping sites “ Social” dimensions

“ Online Shopping Attitudes and Habits” battery: 22 items

(asked only if person purchased anything online in last 30 days)

22 items that measure 10 dimensions:

Trust and usage of online reviews by other consumers

Brand advocacy

Submitting reviews/rating products online

Convenience of shopping online vs. offline

Preferences for online auctions vs. fixed price

Comparing prices across vendors

Trust in product recommendations by site/online vendor

Importance of “feeling” (touching, trying) things before buying them

Preferences for purchasing previously used vs. new items

Loyalty to certain online shopping sites

Online Shoppers Segmentation: Method Sample: Mediamark Research & Intelligence Spring 2008 Recontact Study. Surveys were mailed to the nationally representative sample of 25,059, out of which 7,131 were completed. Recovered data were sample balanced on demographic and behavioral characteristics (age, education, marital status, household income, occupation, household size, census region, marketing region, DMA rank, county size, race, Hispanic origin) to conform to national sample. Classical “tandem” approach to market segmentation (factor/cluster analysis): each respondent is scored on underlying dimension and then assigned to one of the mutually exclusive segments As a result, 5 distinct types of online shoppers were identified:

Sample: Mediamark Research & Intelligence Spring 2008 Recontact Study. Surveys were mailed to the nationally representative sample of 25,059, out of which 7,131 were completed. Recovered data were sample balanced on demographic and behavioral characteristics (age, education, marital status, household income, occupation, household size, census region, marketing region, DMA rank, county size, race, Hispanic origin) to conform to national sample.

Classical “tandem” approach to market segmentation (factor/cluster analysis): each respondent is scored on underlying dimension and then assigned to one of the mutually exclusive segments

As a result, 5 distinct types of online shoppers were identified:

Online Shoppers: Segments * * based on Spring 2008 Follow-up Study (1 wave)

Online Shoppers Segmentation: Trait Matrix * Yes = trait is prevalent; No = trait is absent; / = mixed Characteristics/ Segments Reluctant Cyber-Shoppers Cyber-Bargain Seekers No-nonsense Cyber-Shoppers Social Cyber-Shoppers Selective Cyber-Shoppers Find shopping online more convenient NO / YES YES YES Prefer to “touch” before buying YES NO NO / NO Advocate for favorite brands NO NO NO YES NO Trust and use online reviews and ratings NO / NO YES YES Submit product reviews NO NO NO YES NO Buy previously used Items NO YES NO YES NO Prefer online auctions NO YES NO YES NO Compare prices across vendors NO YES NO YES YES

Meet Social Shoppers! Two ways to be “social”: Social Cyber-Shoppers : the most “vocal” shoppers that both contribute to reviews and rely on them when making purchasing decisions; Selective Cyber-Shoppers : group of “elite” shoppers who often rely on reviews by other consumers, but keep their own shopping experiences to themselves.

Two ways to be “social”:

Social Cyber-Shoppers : the most “vocal” shoppers that both contribute to reviews and rely on them when making purchasing decisions;

Selective Cyber-Shoppers : group of “elite” shoppers who often rely on reviews by other consumers, but keep their own shopping experiences to themselves.

Social Shoppers: Demographic Profile

Social Shoppers: Demographic Profile

Social Shoppers: Demographic Profile

Social Shoppers: Demographic Profile

Social Shoppers: Shopping Behavior

Social Shoppers: Online Behavior Internet Activities: % less/more likely have done in last 30 days, compared to all online shoppers Social CS Selective CS Visited a chat room +70% -29% Used Instant Messenger +33% -1% Made personal or business travel plans -21% +48% Played games online +28% -8% Obtained financial information -7% +32% Tracked investments/Traded stocks, bonds or mutual funds -20% +40% Paid bills on-line +11% +13% Obtained information for new or used car purchase -7% +12% Obtained information about real estate -23% +21% Obtained medical information 2% +11% Obtained childcare or parenting information +21% +9% Looked for employment +35% -30% Looked for recipes +6% +17% Visited a TV network or TV show's website +18% +27% Downloaded Music +41% -11% Visited online blogs +28% -4% Wrote an online blog +80% -61% Watched online video +22% -3%

Social Shoppers: Search Behavior Sources most likely to turn to for product information (% less/more likely than all online shoppers) Social CS Selective CS Search Engine(S) (E.G., Google, Yahoo, Etc.) -1% +7% Discussion Boards or Forums that Specialize in that Product Category +52% +32% Online Shopping Site(S) (E.G., Amazon, E-Bay, Buy.Com, Etc.) +14% +16% Manufacturer or a Given Brand's Website -9% +34% Online Product Reviews by Experts (E.G., CNET, iVillage, Consumer Reports, Etc.) +14% +36% Offline Product Reviews By Experts (E.G., Consumer Reports, Other Magazines, Etc.) +12% +14% Yellow Pages (Online) +38% -23% Yellow Pages (Offline) +1% -26% Friends Or Acquaintances (Online) +43% +3%

Social Shoppers: Search Behavior

Social Shoppers: Media Profile Definition of media usage scores: Magazines = number of issues read in a month; newspapers = number of issues read in last 28 days; radio = number of half-hours listened in a week; TV = number of half-hours viewed in a week.

Social Shoppers: Psychographic Profile % less/more likely to agree somewhat/completely with the following statements, compared to all online shoppers Social CS Selective CS I am influenced by what's hot and what's not +21% -2% People often come to me for advice before making a purchase +15% +1% I like to change brands often for the sake of variety and novelty +33% -18% I'm always one of the first of my friends to try new products or services +28% -21% I'm willing to pay more for top quality electronics -2% +16%

Social Shoppers: Conclusion When it comes to social aspects of online shopping, different consumers behave differently: not all consumers are willing to talk about their experience, and not all consumers are listening to what others say Being more vocal does not automatically translate into more purchasing power; but these voices often influence purchasing decisions of other consumers

When it comes to social aspects of online shopping, different consumers behave differently: not all consumers are willing to talk about their experience, and not all consumers are listening to what others say

Being more vocal does not automatically translate into more purchasing power; but these voices often influence purchasing decisions of other consumers

Social Shoppers: Implications for Online Communities By adding tools for rating and reviewing products, you could: Increase levels of engagement among current members Drive more traffic Attract new members Learn more about your members (their buying styles, interests, etc.)

By adding tools for rating and reviewing products, you could:

Increase levels of engagement among current members

Drive more traffic

Attract new members

Learn more about your members (their buying styles, interests, etc.)

Social Shoppers: Contact Us to Learn More! We offer the following information and respondent-level data (for your own modeling purposes) on online and social shoppers: DEMOGRAPHICS : hundreds of socio-demographic variables PSYCHOGRAPHICS : attitudes, values, and opinions, interests, aspirations, and media content preferences LIFESTYLE : leisure and sports, social and political activities MEDIA CONSUMPTION : traditional (cable and broadcast TV, print newspapers and magazines, radio, billboards) and emerging (Internet, mobile phones, video games, social media, Internet) media touch-points (where, when, how much, and why) PRODUCTS CONSUMPTION : volumetric, spending, and usage data for products and services (dozen categories and hundreds of brands) For more information about Online Shoppers and Social Shoppers segmentations, please contact Konstantin Augemberg [email_address] To purchase access to data and additional reports, please contact Erica Bartelstone [email_address]