Learning From Quilter's Shopping Habits
Posted by administrator on Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
Average Online Spending
Survey respondents claimed to spend an average of $616.70 per year on quilting-related purchases online. They spend a little more online compared to $587.29 per year in traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
There was a wide range of spending. The standard variation for online spending was $492.44.
On average, quilters who shop online spend about as much as they do in a store. The graph below illustrates this.
Comparing In-Store vs Online Prices
Seventy-seven percent of survey respondents said that they actively compare the prices of what they see in the store with what they can find online.
Which Search Engines Quilters Use To Find Products
When asked what search engines quilters use to find products online, most stated they used popular Internet search engines, such as Google and Yahoo. However, a significant number of quilters use niche search engines as well.
What Quilters Buy The Most and Least Of Online
Quilters that shop online were asked what they buy the most and least of online. Fabric is by far the most popular category. The least popular category is Sewing Machines. Blue indicates what quilters buy the most of online. Red represents what quilters buy the least of online.
Online Store Loyalty
To test an online shopper's loyalty to a particular store, survey participants were asked how likely they were to try a new online store every time they sat down to make an online purchase. Survey takers responded on a scale of one to five. A five meant they rarely shop outside of the online stores they have purchased from before. A one meant they're not loyal to any particular store and begin their search for products afresh every time.
The average response was a 3.3, meaning quilters tend to be somewhat loyal to the online stores they like. Quilters check the online stores they like first, but are also willing to look elsewhere for the products they're after.
Important Factors in Choosing an Online Store
Survey takers were asked if more than one online store carried the same product, what would be the most important factor in determining from which store to make the purchase. Although prices are important, you may be surprised that the most popular answer for Most Important and Second Most Important was Favorable Shipping Prices. Second to that was discounted products. Thirdly, customers thought good customer service was an important factor in choosing which store to buy from.
| Most Important | 2nd Most | 3rd Most | |
| Discounted Products | 35.85% | 20.75% | 14.15% |
| Fast shipping | 4.72% | 6.60% | 24.53% |
| Favorable Shipping Prices | 42.45% | 41.51% | 9.43% |
| Guarantee / favorable refund policy | 2.83% | 6.60% | 12.38% |
| Sales Tax-free Shopping | 0.94% | 5.66% | 13.21% |
| Customer Service | 10.38% | 17.92% | 21.70% |
| Attractive website design | 2.83% | 0.94% | 4.72% |
Biggest Deterrent to Shopping at an Online Store
Along with initial attraction to an online store, survey participants were asked what are the biggest deterrent to shopping at an online store. Cluttered or hard to follow website navigation was at the top of the list.
| Biggest Deterrent | 2nd Biggest | 3rd Biggest | |
| Unattractive website design | 1.89% | 5.66% | 12.26% |
| Cluttered / hard to follow website navigation | 47.17% | 26.42% | 18.87% |
| Website security concerns | 18.87% | 13.21% | 7.55% |
| Slow website | 10.38% | 21.70% | 10.38% |
| Poor or no search function | 10.38% | 13.21% | 25.47% |
| Requires a username & password to check out | 7.55% | 5.66% | 4.72% |
| Lengthly or cumbersome checkout process | 3.77% | 14.15% | 20.75% |
Online Social Network Use
Aside from blogs, survey respondents said they use Facebook, Yahoo! Groups, and Webshots the most to share network and share with others.
Age of Online Shoppers
Ninety-nine percent of survey participants were females. The graph below shows their ages. The most popular age group of online quilting supply shoppers is the 45 to 55 age bracket.
Text Messaging and Smart Phones
In general, 58% of the quilters surveyed send text messages from their cell phones. Of those that do text messaging, most text message once a day. Only twenty-five percent of those surveyed have a smart phone, with Blackberry phones being the most popular at 62%.
Key Findings
- Little or no shipping prices is more important that the product's price
- Mobile commerce is still very new for this demographic
- Quilters tend to be loyal to the online stores they have shopped at before
- A cluttered, hard to follow website will drive shoppers away more than any other factor
- Fabric is by far the #1 most shopped category on the web
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Great information but please correct the spelling of habits in the title line. Thanks!
Update: Thank you, Terry, for pointing out the error! Good thing it didn't say "Hobbits"! lol.