By Martin Vedris
SYDNEY: Latest research commissioned by Lasoo.com.au, the pre-purchase research and retail catalogue listing website, indicates that throughout July, 250, 000 retail purchases resulted from a consumer seeing an item promoted on the site.
The survey of 930 visitors to Lasoo.com.au during July 2008, conducted by Nielsen Online, on behalf of Lasoo.com.au, a division of Salmat Ltd, showed that these 250,000 purchases is a 25 per cent conversion rate of Lasoo users going from using the site for research and then heading in-store to purchase items.
Lasoo.com.au is also claiming that the research indicates that 53 per cent of its visitors either visited a particular retailer’s store, their website and/or contacted a retailer that they saw on the site.
The company is also concluding from the survey findings that among the consumers who made a purchase from a retailer promoted on lasoo.com.au, almost all of them did so within a week of visiting Lasoo.com.au, and two-thirds made their purchases within three to four days.
In addition, the company reports that visits to the site more than doubled between May and June this year and that it attracted “well over one million visits in July”.
The company also reports consumer feedback that 80 percent of the site’s visitors stated that Lasoo.com.au provides them with value by listing retail sale items and offers. Lasoo.com.au also stated that close to two thirds of visitors say that they will definitely visit the Lasoo website again and more than 60 per cent state their intention to return to the site on a weekly basis.
“Consumers are clearly using the Internet to research the latest offers prior to making a store visit and we want to make it quick and easy to search while helping them save time and money in store,” said Lasoo.com.au executive director Paul Marshall.
“Here at Lasoo.com.au, we recognise that the Internet is a major influencer of consumer purchases. While consumers have the option of purchasing online, the majority of shoppers are turning to the Internet to ‘pre-shop’, seeking information and price comparisons on products, before heading into the store to make a purchase.
“Consumers now begin the shopping process before they interact with the retailer in store – this means that retailers need to be engaging with them early in this process and Lasoo.com.au allows them to do this. This research demonstrates that “pre-shoppers” who are exposed to websites such as ours may be among the most valuable customers for a retailer.”