Consumers Take Their Time on Major Purchases

Stamford, CT, June 6, 2012 -- Consumers spend an average of 76 days in the research process when considering a major purchase like flooring, according to a research study by GE Capital's Retail Finance business.

The survey and interviews, conducted by Rothstein Tauber, Inc., a marketing research company based in Stamford, explored the shopping habits of more than 3,000 consumers nationwide who were in the market for major items such as appliances, electronics, floor covering, home furnishings, home improvements, jewelry, and lawn and garden equipment.

GE Capital is a major supplier of consumer financing for the floorcovering industry.

Nearly 2,000 of the consumers were GE Capital Retail Bank (GECRB) accountholders and one third of respondents were random shoppers. All had recently made purchases of $500 or more.

"The findings indicate that consumers take a significant amount of time to plan and evaluate major purchases, with 61% starting with online research," said Toni White, chief marketing officer of GE Capital's Retail Finance business.

Depending on the category, the length of time spent researching the purchase took between 38 and 115 days -- more than two months on average.

While the data represents the average major purchase experience, it is inclusive of shoppers who had a short decision cycle due to an urgent need to replace an item.

More than 60% of consumers begin product research online, but 89% made their purchase at a brick-and-mortar store.

Consumers, on average, visited two-to-three unique online retailers and two-to-three unique brick-and-mortar stores before making their purchase.

Nearly 70% of shoppers said their choice of payment options was made before they entered the store to make their purchase.

Six out of 10 GE cardholders said the availability of financing drove their final choice of retailer.