Survey reveals how consumers shop on Amazon

Online consumers do more on Amazon than click-and-buy products.

Nearly all (86%) of survey respondents say they have purchased a product from a brand they've never tried before on Amazon, according to results of an online consumer survey from Amazon partner e-commerce agency Emplicit. More than one-third (35%) say Amazon is how they discover new brands, even if they're small.

In addition to evidence consumers are using Amazon as a new brand discovery tool, the survey also revealed that the platform's Amazon Prime paid membership offering is a popular draw for online shoppers.

Of respondents who would buy from Amazon over a product's own website even if the product was more expensive on Amazon, 50% say they would buy from Amazon because of fast Prime delivery. Another 40% say it's easier than setting up a new account on another website as the reason.

Some of the survey's other interesting findings include:

• Eight in 10 respondents claim they check out "similar items" and "others also bought" items that Amazon displays for them.

• Six in 10 (61%) respondents say that multiple product images are what visually helps them the most while shopping on Amazon. A majority of shoppers surveyed say they still do their due diligence when purchasing on Amazon. This includes 27% look at a seller's website before they buy if they're unfamiliar with them, and 24% will check to see if the seller is selling cheaper directly from their site.
• More than half of consumers say it doesn't affect their purchase decision whether their product is fulfilled by Amazon or a third-party retailer, with 29% saying they don't care one way or the other as long as delivery is guaranteed.

"The survey affirms that consumers trust and enjoy using Amazon as their shopping portal," said Brian Byer, COO of Emplicit. "Many of our new survey findings reaffirm why it's not only important to have a presence on Amazon, but to have an optimized presence that makes the most of this powerful sales channel."

Amazon, Google rank as top channels for consumer research

Amazon and Google are the top channels for consumer research, with 89% and 82% of consumers, respectively, researching products on the sites during the past 12 months, according to a recent study of global consumers by ChannelAdvisor Corp., a CommerceHub company. Rounding out the top five were eBay (52%), Facebook (27%) and Instagram (24%).