OVK Online- RepORt 2011/ 01

OnlInE InFORMAtIOn AnD tRAnSACtIOnS
Many people who
search for information
online go on to make
online purchases.
thE IntERnEt IS An EVERyDAy MEDIuM
FOR InFORMAtIOn AnD tRAnSACtIOnS
the widespread use of the Internet as a matter of course also has
an effect on the purchasing behaviour of many consumers: so much so,
that 96.9% of all Internet users, that is 49.08 million people, have
looked online for information relating to products. this fact only serves
to highlight the importance of the Internet as a platform for information
in the research and decision-making stage before making a purchase –
irrespective of whether this purchase is ultimately made online of offline.
yet, the Internet not only serves as a medium for product information
but also as a reference source when purchasing or using paid services.
In total, 85.6% of Internet users (43.39 million people) have purchased
products online during the past twelve months. Books remain the no.
1 purchase, followed by entrance tickets and music CDs.
the activation potential of the Internet for certain product categories is
apparent from the online conversion rate – the ratio between people
seeking information online and those who seek information online AnD
buy online. In this context, books are top of the list, with a conversion
rate of 69.1%, i.e. the number of people seeking information online who
also buy books online amounts to over two-thirds of the people who
sought information about books online. this is followed by women’s
clothing, toys, entrance tickets, men’s clothing, lotteries, music CDs,
babycare products, lottery competitions subject to charge, music and
film downloads, films on DVD/video and shoes. For all these products,
more than half of those searching for information online also become
online purchasers, i.e. the proportion of people who seek information
and buy online is over half of those who search for information online.
Conversion rates for the top 15 products
Books
Women’s clothing
toys
tickets for cinema, theatre etc.
Men’s clothing
Competitions
Music CDs
Babycare products
lottery competitions (subject to charge)
Music or films (subject to charge)
Films on DVD/video
Footwear
Computer hardware or accessories
holiday or business hotels
Betting
7.0
3.9
6.1
5.6
2.9
4.1
2.0
11.5
12.2
Conversion rates in %
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70%
■ Online information in % ■ Online information and online purchase in %
Interpretation example: 58.9% of Internet users (WNK) have researched books on the Internet and 40.7% have researched
books online AND bought them online, equating to a conversion rate for those seeking information to those seeking information
and making a purchase of 69.1%. /// Basis: 101,172 cases (Internet users in the last three months) / „Have you ever looked for
information on the Internet about the following products?“ / “Have you bought any of the following products via the Internet in
the past 12 months?” /// Data expressed as a percentage / The top 15 from a total of 59 products are shown ///Source: AGOF
e.V. / internet facts 2010-III /// Data for the German market
21.4
20.7
19.9
20.2
18.9
24.2
23.8
24.6
24.8
40.7
37.5
34.5
33.3
35.5
39.1
40.3
38.0
46.3
49.5
54.5
58.9
69.1
64.5
62.0
61.1
58.3
55.7
53.6
53.0
51.8
51.3
50.9
50.1
49.7
49.7
48.8
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