Amazon is the code virtually every brand and retailer wants to crack.
Feedvisor said its 2019 Amazon Consumer Behavior Report is designed to help any merchant “understand and effectively connect with high-value prospects and loyal, repeat consumers on Amazon.”
People are turning to Amazon to outfit their wardrobes, the data shows. Apparel, footwear and jewelry comprise the second-most purchased product segment (43 percent) on Amazon, slightly trailing category leader electronics (44 percent).
More than a quarter (27 percent) of Prime members shop every day or just about, or up to a few times a week, though just 5 percent of non-members purchase as frequently. Older Gen Z consumers (18-22 years old) and millennials who top out at age 32 drive major business for Amazon. The lion’s share of these shoppers (85 percent) purchase multiple times a week and the most hardcore (35 percent) find themselves placing an Amazon order daily, or close to it.
At a time when loyalty is waning overall, Amazon manages to buck the trend and keep customers coming back to the “everything store.” Noting that the Seattle-based retailer “has become an integral part of day-to-day customer behavior,” Feedvisor said in the report that 48 percent of the people it surveyed visit Amazon each week, while an even greater number (89 percent) are on the site monthly.
Amazon isn’t just the place where people want to discover products and casually browse around—it’s where they act on their intent to shop. Asked about their purchasing proclivities, 89 percent said they’re more apt to transact with Amazon than with other online competitors. That figure rises to 96 percent when looking only at those holding Prime memberships.
The survey pool also shops on websites like Walmart.com (52 percent) and eBay (43 percent), which Feedvisor says is evidence of the “uncontested dominance” of the online marketplace model.
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Prime members overwhelmingly love Amazon’s loyalty program and most (83 percent) say the free two-day shipping is their favorite perk, while virtually all (95 percent) intend to continue subscribing to the $119-a-year plan. Those valuable, frequent purchasers often filter (75 percent) product search results for items that come with Prime shipping, more than the 67 percent of all consumers checking for Prime-eligible goods. It’s no wonder that vendors work so hard to obtain Fulfilled by Amazon status when 53 percent of Prime members report often placing Prime-eligible orders.
When looking at the devices Prime members versus non-members use to purchase on Amazon, smartphones show greater penetration with members (27 percent versus 19 percent), while those without a membership use their desktop computers more often (73 percent versus 62 percent). Plus, the younger the consumers, the greater their affinity to mobile devices, Feedvisor noted. Shoppers over 40 are more likely to log onto Amazon on a PC while Gen Zers ages 18 to 21 show the greatest chance of accessing the e-commerce site through their phones.
Note that just 1 percent of Prime members and no non-members report purchasing via voice-activated technology, though 36 percent claimed to own some sort of voice-activated device, whether from Amazon’s Alexa family of gadgets or speakers powered by Google Assistant.
Feedvisor found what appears to be a correlation between high-frequency purchasers and usage of voice-activated devices. Four-fifths (80 percent) of people who shop on Amazon near daily are more likely to own a smart speaker, the report said.
Multiple reports have shown low usage of smart speakers for voice-based shopping but the Feedvisor report indicates that 40 percent have tried shopping this way at least once, while another 67 percent are open to experimenting with voice-based shopping. Just less than one-third (29 percent) of people who don’t currently own a voice-activated device intend to purchase one in the future.
Again, high-frequency Amazon purchasers showed a stronger likelihood of using voice to shop. Eighty-six percent of daily or near-daily buyers have transacted through a voice-activated device, according to Feedvisor’s data.
In keeping with established behavioral patterns, Feedvisor’s survey group indicated that Amazon dominates both product search and purchasing intent. Just about two-thirds (66 percent) of people said they start their searches on Amazon and another 74 percent go to the “everything store” when they’re ready to buy. Amazon is also the place where most people compare prices (82 percent) and read reviews (79 percent) as part of their product research and path to purchase.
Much has been made of the importance of the “buy box” on Amazon and Feedvisor’s results confirm why vendors care so much about their search rankings on the influential e-commerce site. Most people (59 percent) scroll only two or three pages deep into product search results, while 12 percent can’t be bothered to get past page one. And for more than half (54 percent) of those high-frequency shoppers, the very top search results tend to be what draws their purchase. Search seems to be working just fine for customers, 95 percent of whom said they’re satisfied (or “very” satisfied) with the results they see.
Like virtually all shoppers, people buying on Amazon list price (82 percent) as the top factor to sway their purchase, followed by cheap shipping (70 percent) and good product reviews (57 percent). Another 49 percent like Amazon’s hassle-free returns policy.
One of the most visible artificial intelligence applications to date is the omnipresent “suggested products” box that Amazon popularized on product pages. This staple is proven to drive incremental value, as 67 percent of shoppers notice these suggestions at least occasionally or more often. Some of these formats are more successful than others, however; people said they most often click on the “frequently purchased together” boxes (48 percent) while “sponsored items related to that product” garnered less interest (26 percent).
Amazon’s private label are less of a secret now to consumers, 61 percent of whom claim to be aware of brands exclusive to the retailer and virtually all (99 percent) are satisfied with quality on this front. That’s a strong endorsement of Amazon’s efforts to build low-cost rivals to established national brands. In fact 62 percent of shoppers cited budget-friendly prices as the reason why they took a chance on one of Amazon’s brands. Seventy percent would consider purchasing a private-label brand, said Feedvisor, which surveyed 2,000 U.S. consumers for the report.
Counterfeits have been a hot topic related to Amazon but 52 percent don’t think fakes and knockoffs are a problem, though 48 percent do. However, people ordering on Amazon most often worry more about ending up with a counterfeit, as 63 percent of those high-frequency purchases describe this as a considerable concern. Amazon recently debuted Project Zero as a means of combating fraudulent goods on its platform.
“All told, retailers and brands need to take proactive measures to position their Amazon and associated marketplace strategy at the center of their e-commerce plans,” Feedvisor said.