I bought my first adult bicycle last night from our friends at the Bicycle Garage Indy (BGI).
For those of you who are a lot more "schooled" in biking than I, you probably know I didn't just buy a bike. Oh, no - I bought a bike then it dawned on me... well, how am I going to get it home? So, I bought a trunk carrier, then I realized if I wanted to ride this weekend I probably need a helmet. Oh and, don't forget the air pump!
Now, you might be thinking: why the heck make such an implusive buy on a Thursday evening?
In reality, it wasn't impuslive at all becuase I had done my research online before going to the store. I'd searched the Internet to to learn more about the type of bike to suit my needs, brands and most importantly, a local store that a.) carried the bikes I had narrowed down and b.) allowed me to test them out.
Turns out I'm not alone when it comes to online search before making an in store purchase. According to a 2009 study by eMarketer:
Web research has become a priority for value shoppers in today’s recession. Currently 86% of Internet users are online shoppers—they browse, research and compare products on the Internet, but do not necessarily buy online. As a result, though often ignored, store sales influenced by online research are three times higher than e-commerce sales.
For any brick and mortar store the moral of the study is this... people are going online to search for your products, don't under estimate the influence search plays in their purchases. That's why stores like BGI are blogging. They are utilizing their business blogs to get found in search and as a result are driving local traffic to their bicycle shop.
So, I'm curious... do you fit this mold? Are there any big purchases you've made lately that started with a search?
For those of you who are a lot more "schooled" in biking than I, you probably know I didn't just buy a bike. Oh, no - I bought a bike then it dawned on me... well, how am I going to get it home? So, I bought a trunk carrier, then I realized if I wanted to ride this weekend I probably need a helmet. Oh and, don't forget the air pump!Now, you might be thinking: why the heck make such an implusive buy on a Thursday evening?
In reality, it wasn't impuslive at all becuase I had done my research online before going to the store. I'd searched the Internet to to learn more about the type of bike to suit my needs, brands and most importantly, a local store that a.) carried the bikes I had narrowed down and b.) allowed me to test them out.
Turns out I'm not alone when it comes to online search before making an in store purchase. According to a 2009 study by eMarketer:
Web research has become a priority for value shoppers in today’s recession. Currently 86% of Internet users are online shoppers—they browse, research and compare products on the Internet, but do not necessarily buy online. As a result, though often ignored, store sales influenced by online research are three times higher than e-commerce sales.
For any brick and mortar store the moral of the study is this... people are going online to search for your products, don't under estimate the influence search plays in their purchases. That's why stores like BGI are blogging. They are utilizing their business blogs to get found in search and as a result are driving local traffic to their bicycle shop.
So, I'm curious... do you fit this mold? Are there any big purchases you've made lately that started with a search?
Comments for What the Internet can tell you about buying a bicycle.
Leave a comment