By Liz F. Kay , SUN REPORTER|May 19, 2008
Forget the hype about online shopping. Americans may use the Internet to research their purchases - but the information they find there doesn't necessarily clinch the deal.
And when it comes to actually laying out cash, most prefer doing it in person, according to a detailed study of online commerce released today.
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 40 percent to 55 percent of shoppers surveyed said they looked online for information for three categories of purchases: cell phones, music and housing. But they more often relied on brick-and-mortar stores - or human agents - when it came time to buy.
"We find the Internet being used in a very tactical way," said John Horrigan, the project's associate director. "It tends not to be a game-changer in people's consumer decisions. It's used in a very technical way to help people eliminate options that aren't useful for them."
Despite the press generated by online music stores such as Apple's iTunes and a wide variety of Web-based gadget outlets, only 22 percent of music buyers and 10 percent of cell phone shoppers reported making purchases online.
The study also found that most buyers don't bother to review or comment on purchases they've made - even when they have ample opportunity online. But those who do may find their voices are heard, Horrigan said.
The Pew researchers surveyed consumers about music, cell phones and housing to capture shoppers with different interests.
They chose music because "we wanted to get something that in principle could be an entirely digital product," Horrigan said. Cell phones, he said, represent a feature-laden information gadget that people purchase periodically. The final category, housing, he said, is something everyone needs eventually but isn't inherently technological.
More people rely on the Internet for advice about cell phones than about music, possibly because of the level of commitment - and money - involved, the study indicated.
About 60 percent of consumers in the market for cell phones consult experts and salespeople in person, and about half go to at least one cell phone store. Only two-fifths of cell phone purchasers used the Internet at all.
With music, more than 80 percent of consumers still depend on mainstream media such as radio, television or movies to discover new artists. About two-thirds say their friends and relatives introduce them.
