Lithuania: The major source of tourist information for Internet users is the Internet

2008-05-09

Purchasing is closely related to searching for information about the product one intends to buy. Provided relevant, detailed information about the product not only helps user to make a decision, but also promotes purchases of this product. It is natural that the more expensive a product is and the rarer it is to be purchased, the more information a customer is willing to obtain before purchasing the product. In order to gather some data about a product the customer asks shop assistants or friends and family members for their opinion, searches for information in the press or on the Internet. Information provided in advertisements also influences a customer’s decision.

During the study carried out by the Internet research company “Gemius Baltic“, among other targets, the main aim was to find out what the main source of information about products is for 18–44 year-old Lithuanian Internet users who decide to shop (in the traditional way or via the Internet).

The study revealed that the main source of information depends on the type of products the users intend to buy. Information about food (34% of the respondents), life, goods or car insurance (26%) is most often obtained from friends and family members. If there is a need to obtain information about clothes and jewellery (35%), consumer electronics and domestic appliances (33%) or furniture (28%), then users turn to shop assistants for help. The Internet is the most popular source of information about train, bus or plane tickets (54% of the respondents), travel services (43%), and cinema and theatre tickets (43%).

Advertisements, as a source of information, are not very popular. Though information about various products and services is presented in advertisements, quite a small portion of the users declare that advertisements are the main source of information for them. Advertisements as a source of information are a little more popular in cosmetics, food, consumer electronics and domestic appliance product categories, however, in each of them the information from advertisements is gained only by about one-sixth of the respondents. Internet users obtain even less information about products and services from the press – the share of such respondents does not reach 10% in any of the product categories.

After the evaluation of the popularity of different sources of information in all 18 studied product categories it was generally estimated that in 29% of the cases information is obtained from the Internet, 22% - from friends and family members, 21% - from shop assistants, 12% and 4%, - from advertisements and the press respectively, and 13% from other sources. Friends and family members are the main source of information in 2 product categories, shop assistants – in 6, and the Internet - even in 10 product categories.

It is worth noting that there are some particular product categories about which fairly little information is obtained from the Internet, i.e. food (3% of the respondents), cosmetics (4%), clothes and jewellery (5%), children's accessories and toys (5%).

Information about these products is mostly provided by friends and family members (for instance, about food - 34% of the respondents) or by shop assistants (about cosmetics (23%), clothes and jewellery (35%), children's accessories and toys (24%)). The reason for this may be that there is less information on the Internet about products which are usually bought in the traditional way (for instance, food), as a stereotype still exists that Internet users are more interested in products that are directly related to the Internet.

This existing attitude is also partly confirmed by the study results – products, about which information is obtained from the Internet, are also usually bought more on the Internet: train, bus, plain tickets (these were bought by 42% of the Internet customers), books, CDs and films (39%), cinema and theatre tickets (33%) and travel services (27%).

The e-commerce study executed by UAB “Gemius Baltic“ this year aimed to find out what the attitudes of Internet users towards shopping were in general, to learn where Internet users most often obtain information about different product groups, and to explore Lithuanian e-commerce trends, perspectives, and users’ attitudes. A total of 1353 Internet users, aged 18–44, participated in the study. According to the data of the “gemiusAudience” study, in March 2008 the total number of 7–74 year-old Internet users reached 1 553 000, and 18–44 year-old users constituted 58% of the whole Internet audience.

For detailed information please contact: jolita.reidman@gemius.com

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