Google Research:18% of all financial products are sold online in India

According to ET Google has conducted a study implemented by the strategic market research firm Media Screen to gain deeper understanding of Indian consumer behavior in the online space. According to the study

• 18% of all financial products are sold online in India
• Nearly 68% of consumers go online to research products that interest them
• Comparing costs and product details are the two most common online financial research activities.
• For Consumers undertaking research for banking services information sources are TV advertisements (41%), search engines (69%) and bank’s website (47%).

Beyond this there is also a pitch for importance of Search Engine and google with the study stating

• Nearly 67% of respondents use search engines for financial product research.
• 30% of consumers also use search engines to become aware of special rates/promotions and to access expert advice.
• Around 55% people see an online advertisement and click on them to learn more.

I refuse to believe the last point of the study since if 55% of users were clicking on financial products ad in India the clickthrough rates would be much higher. Google has been targeting BFSI sectors aggressively for search advertising since it fits well in their model of providing leads based advertising and hence this information was released in ET so if I were in financial services sector i will take this report with a pinch of salt
(via Pluggdin)
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