The Changing Behaviour of the Internet Shopper

Every successful ecommerce website under the sun gives considerable attention to the data that their analytics package presents, with many paying extortionate amounts of money every year for some of the most advanced software on the market. Additionally, many of these websites have a team of individuals who scrutinise this data on a daily basis, aiming to increase property margins by any minor way possible.

One of the biggest reveals from most websites is the changing behaviour of the typical internet shopper. Once upon a time it was a case of plodding through the shopping basket stages before finally making a purchase. Now, most internet users know exactly how to take to a shopping cart – and one of their main steps actually involves venturing off the website.

A lot of ecommerce vendors now give users the opportunity to enter a promotional code, even if they are not even running any sort of discount at the time. It means that most users will quickly fire up their search engine of choice, before seeing whether or not the retailer in question has any promotions running that can knock ‘x’ percent from their purchase.

In fact, this whole process has carved the way for a completely new business – voucher code websites. Coupons have always been donning the internet, but it would be fair to say that these specific websites are much more user friendly and aim to provide codes as quickly as possible, so users can quickly revert back to their shopping cart.

A lot of price comparison websites are jumping in on the act as well, and trapping customers who are already look to make tremendous savings. The popular cybercompare.net certainly falls into this category and while most users will be visiting to find a better broadband or web hosting deal, there is now a dedicated section to promote the latest voucher codes.

While each voucher website operates under a different structure, a lot monetize themselves based on a retailer’s affiliate program. They are often provided with unique discount codes that can subsequently be passed onto their consumers and this means that each and every site in the niche can potentially have different coupon options available.

For example, one could analyse some of the codes that Currys are currently advertising. Over at cybercompare.net it’s possible to take advantage of several 10% codes, which unsurprisingly entitle the user to 10% off the price of various items. In these instances, the comparison website has been handed a discount code to pass onto consumers.

However, if you scour other websites, you might note that many just list the various “deals” that are on offer. In the case of Currys again, this is a retailer which is currently offering free delivery to customers. Some coupon websites may try and pass this off as a unique discount, when in reality no discount code is required and this is a saving open to the general public.

Bearing the above in mind, consumers now even have to shop shrewdly for suitable discount websites. Ones such as cybercompare.net have established themselves as a destination which is frequently updated, and provides genuine value to the consumer. However, many are taking advantage of a consumer’s “new” online purchase journey and promoting offers that can be sought just by visiting the retailer’s website directly.

Nevertheless, one thing is for sure – with practically every retailer now offering a promotional code field in their checkout options, it can at least give a lot of consumers a great sense of satisfaction when completing a purchase, rather than the dread which tends to follow a hefty spend.