Bargaining, Blackberry in Hand

Posted on | March 25, 2008 |

Deep in the jungle of discount shopping at Filene’s Basement in NYC last week  I did some subversive shopping. A deeply discounted Catherine Malandrino black top boasted savings of more than 60% it was down to $60, but was that the lowest it would go?  I whipped out the blackberry and fired up Bonfire Media’s eBay search.  There, dress in hand I found its twin for sale in Kentucky for $29. 

Research trumps impulse buy and I placed a bid for the cheaper top. 

Seems I’m not alone. Krillion just published some interesting findings derived from recent custom research that  reveals how shoppers use the Web to determine what to buy
 

Key  findings:

— The majority (67 percent) of today’s Web-savvy shoppers spend more than 30 percent of their total shopping time researching products on the Web. A subset, which the survey dubs ‘Web-informed buyers’ spend more than 50 percent of their shopping time on online research.— ‘Web-informed buyers’ rely on multiple information sources for their product research and have developed sophisticated behaviors and requirements as they use the websites of manufacturers and e-tailers to determine what to buy and where to buy it. 

In related news - haggling at department stores is back in.  However arguing with an apathetic, unempowered Filene’s basement employee is not my idea of efficient behavior- I’d rather do my bargaining online.  

Online shopping expert, Michelle Madhok, is the CEO of White Cat Media LLC publisher of SheFinds.com and MomFinds.com, sites that help busy women shop online.

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