Google India recently released a report on the influence of Internet on technology product purchases in India. The study was conducted by Nielsen India on behalf of Google India where they surveyed 200 multi-brand and single-brand stores with a total of 3677 respondents from 12 cities - 4 metros Mumbai, NCR, Chennai, Kolkata; tier 1 cities -Chandigarh, Pune, Indore, Coimbatore; tier 2 cities: Kanpur, Vadodara, Kochi, Bhubaneshwar. The report reveals that about 40% of the respondents researched on the internet before making a purchase decision for technology products. The report also states that about 7 out of 10 of the buyers know the exact brand and model they want to buy with the help of online research before entering the store. The study saw highest impact on this kind of behavior in tier 1 & tier 2 city consumers with 83% respondents saying that they know exactly the brand that they want to buy before they go to the store. The results from the study are interesting indicating that there seems to be a shift in how consumers buy products -- due to the ease in access to information on the Internet, consumers seem to be researching about the product online and make a purchase offline. However, this behavior is also worrisome for ecommerce and deals sites considering that consumers believe that they'll get a better deal offline (read below). Apart from that, the study also revealed that Internet is now second only to TV to create awareness for tech products - for metro & tier 1 audience. About 46% respondents stated…
