DISQO Finds Digital Shopping Behavior Recall Failures

More than a third (38%) of consumers incorrectly recall their digital shopping journey behavior, according to the findings of a new study conducted by consumer insights platform DISQO.

According to DISQO, the variance, known as the 'Say-Do Gap', 'fluctuates significantly' when examined by age, income level and gender. The firm used its platform, fueled by millions of opted-in members', with respondents (n=53,749) for its 'Mind the Gap' study asked about their shopping behavior in the prior 30 days. Answers were compared to measurements of their actual digital behavior, collected during the same period.

To understand if there were any differences across brand categories, DISQO looked at recall and shopping behavior across the auto, grocery and travel sectors. Each consumer who had five or more qualifying digital events (keyword searches, web site visits, and mobile app launches) in the study categories was labeled an 'Active Shopper'. DISQO found that consumers had the biggest gap between their self-reported and actual behavior in relation to shopping for motors, with 53% displaying behavior that contradicted their answers to questions about shopping in the category. In the grocery segment the Say-Do Gap was 33% and for travel it was 28%.

The study also examined respondents' confidence in their answers to the survey questions about their behavior, and found that people with the most confidence in their ability to recall their shopping behavior were the least accurate in doing so. Anne Hunter (pictured), VP of Product Marketing and study architect, says that as consumers conducted more of their purchase journeys online, marketers gained access to AdTech measures of consumer behavior such as cookies, mobile IDs and IP addresses that gave 'imperfect, but easy-to-use behavioral metrics'. 'Now, with the usefulness of these technologies deprecating, self-reported measures of behavior may return to vogue - but the risks of relying exclusively on consumer recollection without behavioral confirmation are huge', she adds.

Web site: www.disqo.com .