ROPO effect depends on product and age

Around 39 per cent of DIY product purchases are prepared in advance by the consumer through Internet research. This is normally spoken of as the ROPO effect (research online, purchase offline - or vice versa).
Nevertheless, it strongly depends on the product which they need whether they'll start the online orientation or not, market researchers at USP marketing Consultancy in the European Home Improvement Monitor have discovered. When buying paint brushes, only 15 per cent of the European consumers orientate online before their purchase. In contrast, when buying power tools more than half of the consumers orientate online.
It seems logical that once a consumer started his orientation online, the chance that he will end up buying online is bigger. This is true in most categories. However, there are some exceptions. For instance with insulation materials almost half of the consumers orientate themselves online. Yet in most countries the share for online buying of insulation materials is below 5 per cent.
Hardly surprising is the fact that the share of those who research the Internet before purchasing sinks with increasing age. But even among the millennials, this does not even amount to 42 per cent.