We have been writing about YELP, Social Media, Consumer Wants to Know and all that unsexy stuff- well now you can read about the latest optical industry trends.
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – (Business Wire) Forty-two percent of recent eyeglass and contact lens buyers report influence from online media, the same percentage as traditional media, revealing the increasing power of the Internet on purchase decisions, according to the Spring 2009 Ad-ology Media Influence on Consumer Choice survey.
According to a release, among 45-54 year olds, 23.5 percent were influenced by manufacturer Web sites and 13.2 percent by search results. In addition to price and quality, the most important factors to this age group were knowledgeable staff (77.7 percent), product availability (71.9 percent), and store/optometrists’ variety/selection (71.7 percent).
Fashion/style-related Web sites influenced 35 percent of 18-to-24-year old purchasers and 30.5 percent of 25 to 34 year olds. These two groups were also more influenced by search results or sponsored links than older purchasers, and were more likely to buy online.
Consumers surveyed were almost equally split in regards to where they prefer to purchase eyeglasses and contact lenses. Approximately 49 percent prefer purchasing from their eye doctor/optometrist’s office, and 46 percent prefer to buy from an optical store.
“Although just over five percent of U.S. adults said they prefer to buy online, that translates to a market of more than 11 million potential customers,” said C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research. “Even those buying from optical stores and opticians are influenced by online information, making store Web sites and online marketing critical,” Smith said.
Other key findings from the survey: – Approximately 40.8 million Americans adults researched eyeglass styles and contacts online recently – 18 to 24 year olds were most influenced by social media, with positive reviews “significantly” influencing 14 percent – Fashion/style-related Web sites influenced 35 percent of 18-to-24-year old purchasers – Of traditional media, television, direct mail, newspapers, and yellow pages had the most influence on U.S. buyers Ad-ology Research analyzes key marketing and advertising trends in over 400 industries and what motivates end-customers.
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