As the Internet slowly became the favorite shopping place for a large number of consumers, one question emerged: how much does the Internet influence their shopping choices? Pew Internet & American Life Project decided to answer that question, by studying the consumer buying choices on three products: music, cell phones and a place to live. The findings unveiled that, although often used, the Internet is more of a tool to help buyers focus their search, rather than a primary source for pre-purchase information or a shopping advisor.

Only 7 to 11 percent of the respondents said online information had a major impact on their decision to purchase any of the three products mentioned above, and only 3 to 5 percent of them posted a rating or comments on the Internet after a purchase. The study also revealed that 83 percent of the music buyers look for information from radio, TV or in a movie, 59 percent of cell phone purchasers ask an expert of salesperson for advice, while 49 percent of the people looking for a place to live look at ads in the paper before a purchase.

Internet can prove to be an efficient tool to focus search, but no more than one-tenth of buyers have actually said that online information had a major impact in their purchasing decision. However, when a contractual or financial commitment is required, the figures change: 10 percent of cell phone buyers (or 27 percent of those who documented online prior to purchase) and 11 percent of home buyers and renters (or 23 percent of those who used the Internet for research) said online information did have a major impact on their purchasing decision.

Online information acted as a mean to save money for 42 percent of music buyers, 41 percent of cell phone buyers and 29 percent of those interested in a place to live. However, although it may have helped some save some money, others believe that online information can also influence shoppers to buy even more.

The conclusion of the survey was that, although online information “shapes” the consumers’ choices, the Internet is not a major influence factor in the final decision, partly due to concerns about online security in shopping, which discourages the use of online resources to shop, the study finds.

The complete study can be found here. The results of the survey were based on telephone interviews conducted by the Princeton Survey Research Associates International between August 3 and September 5, 2004, on 2,400 adults, 18 and older.