Consumers spend a whopping 11 weeks on average researching purchases of $500 or more, according to GE Capital. Six in 10 respondents said they typically start researching products online, but the GE Capital survey found most purchases were completed at a store.
Stamford-based Rothstein Tauber Inc. conducted the survey for Norwalk-based GE Capital, querying some 3,000 shoppers nationwide in the market for major items like appliances, electronics, home improvements, jewelry and lawn equipment.
Depending on the category, the length of time spent researching a particular purchase ranged from 38 to 115 days, and 76 days on average.
The companies also reported:
”¢Â More than 60 percent of consumers begin product research online, but 89 percent complete their purchase at a retail store;
Ӣ Consumers visited two to three online retailers and a similar number of stores before making their purchase; and
Ӣ Nearly 70 percent of shoppers said they knew how they would pay before they entered the store to make their purchase.
