In their Biannual Commerce Flagship report Global Web Index shared the insights on international buying behaviours from a survey of 113,932 internet users aged 16-64. There are lots of juicy trends which should be informing digital marketing strategies in 2019.
![Woman shopping](https://vermont-towns.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ecommerce-behavioural-trends-from-the-second-half-of-2018.jpg)
1. Brand Identification
Brand awareness is a difficult metric to measure and put a value on but is undoubtedly a hugely important step in the customer purchasing journey. Understanding where consumers are actually looking to discover brands should enable investment in brand raising activities to have the highest likelihood of delivering a demonstrable return.
37% of global internet users cite Search Engines as their primary source of brand discovery. This is ahead of Ads seen on TV (36%), Ads seen online (31%) and Word-of-mouth recommendations (31%). Ads seen on TV are still the primary source of brand discovery for internet users in the bottom 25% income bracket. However, more affluent internet users have driven the shift in overall trend to Search Engines.
Only 24% of internet users cite Recommendations/comments on social media as a primary source of brand discovery. Whilst Influencer content does not even make the top 10, the report does say that 16-24 year olds are 44% more likely to discover brands through vlogs than the older age ranges.
2. Product Research
Someone who is completely brand unaware is unlikely to convert following their first interaction with your brand. So where do they go next to conduct further research into your product or service?
- 52% head to Search Engines
- 42% call on their Social Networks
- 36% rely on Consumer Reviews
- Only 32% go to the Product/Brand website
![Bar graph](https://vermont-towns.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ecommerce-behavioural-trends-from-the-second-half-of-2018.png)
3. Purchase Pondering
![Man pulling record out of record rack](https://vermont-towns.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ecommerce-behavioural-trends-from-the-second-half-of-2018-1.jpg)