Laffitte Conseil

Offline Influence on Online Search Yields 39% Conversion

According to a the "iProspect Offline Channel Influence on Online Search Behavior Study," conducted by JupiterResearch, 67% of the online search population is driven to search by offline channels. It also revealed that 39% of online searchers who are influenced by offline channels ultimately make a purchase. This 39% conversion rate suggests a synergistic relationship exists between search and offline channels, concludes the study.

iProspect president, Robert Murray, said "Search is no longer an add-on consideration for marketers... it's clear that its efficacy is multiplied when combined with offline channels... The bottom line is that integration is no longer optional... but at the end of the day, it's pretty much meaningless if a purchase isn't made."

 

Beginning with the hypothesis that the use of search engines to perform searches is growing more important to the majority of online users, the study set out to identify the importance and frequency of searches, then the offline influences driving the prospect to the Internet, concluding with behavior of searchers in converting to a purchase.

 

The vast majority of the younger age group reported a growth of importance in performing queries on search engines, and a significant percentage of online users 25 and older reported the same. Almost three quarters of online users who have been using the Internet for less than a year report that search has grown in importance to them, while more than half of online users with more than one year of Internet experience concur with their less experienced counterparts.

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First-time users, the future growth engine for online travel in Asia

In the United States, online travel sites are fighting to take over consumers from competitors. In Asia, the race is on to capture the interest of the first-time user and build up some brand loyalty to sites.

Online travel in the Asia-Pacific region is likely to experience explosive growth the rest of the decade. From 2006 to 2010, India is expected to grow at 271.6 percent annually, while Vietnam’s online travel sector is forecast to expand 202 percent and China’s and Indonesia’s in the 70 to 83 percent range. (The biggest markets in revenue terms outside of Japan are India at US$300 million and China at US$200 million.) The U.S. online travel business, by contrast, will grow 17 percent on an annual basis during the same time.

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