Savviest online shoppers: Millennials most likely to hunt for best deals

Millennials are the most likely to browse and compare prices online before making a purchase as compared to other generations, a new survey revealed.

According to a study commissioned by e-commerce rewards and discovery platform shopback, titled “How Covid-19 impacted the Way Filipinos shop,” 86 percent of millennials, or those born between 1981 and 1996, said they typically spend 30 minutes to 1.5 hours searching for the best deals. The findings added that 68.3 percent of the age group have been more inclined to make an online purchase since the global pandemic began.

“The survey findings have shown us how ecommerce acceptance has grown tremendously over the past year,” said Prashant Kala, country manager of shopback Philippines. “With Filipino shoppers discovering the conveniences and benefits of online shopping, we expect continuous growth in the Philippines, and along with it, the rise of digital payment solutions.”

The survey noted that more Filipino online shoppers have become more “value-conscious” and “platform-agnostic.”

nearly 90 percent of the respondents are found to compare prices of a certain item across different online marketplaces before clicking on the check-out button. Around 72 percent of the consumers also said they only started comparing prices in 2020, spending an average of 50 minutes looking for the best-value offers. some 14 percent even take 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, the study revealed that 92 percent of the respondents shop on major e-commerce sites, such as shopee, lazada and Amazon, citing less expensive products and convenient payment methods. However, 71.3 percent made purchases from other online web sites as well in the past year. They pointed to better discount offers, wider product selection and exclusive brand promotions.

“Consumers tend to stick to their usual shopping platform, but are platform-agnostic when lower prices or specific products come into play,” the report noted.

Among the factors that influence the purchase behavior of Filipino consumers are price, quality of product and good reviews. The shopback-commissioned survey also noted that the average online window shopping time for 73.1 percent of the respondents is over an hour, with 15.3 percent spending as much as five hours.

“The study found that 79.8 percent of respondents tend to spend more time browsing online during major sales days such as the recently concluded 4.4, 9.9, 10.10, 11.11, and 12.12,” Kala added.

earlier this year, the Department of Trade and industry said it aims to boost the contribution of the e-commerce industry to P1.2 trillion by 2022, which is equivalent to 5.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.