Study on the internet and consumer behavior

30906125 The good folks from Fleishmann-Hillard sent me some information about their European offices’ recent work on understanding how the Internet affects consumer behavior in Europe.

Key findings:

  • The Internet beat TV two to one on influence, and eight to one over print.
  • People ask other people for personal purchase advice, but for airline tickets and bigger ticket items, they prefer the corporate sites.
  • Only 28% of people trust the information they read online, and yet 66% say the web helps them make better decisions. Sounds like they use the web to get information but want someone in their life to verify the decision.
  • Different countries use the web differently: Germany uses more search; the UK has more social networking interest and the French, more digital communications with web cameras and instant messaging.

The full report on the research is free to download here.