Google Research: Role of Internet on Financial Products Sold in India

A study was conducted by Google and research firm Netpop Research to get a fix on how Indian consumers use the internet and other traditional sources before buying financial products/services.The study was conducted amongst users who had purchased a product from banking services, home loans, personal loans, credit cards, investments, insurance policies and remittances in the last six months.

1. Google India records 70 million searches every month for financial products
2. 8 out of every 10 consumers use at least one internet source before buying a financial product.
3. Around 70% of the consumers compare costs during such research
   
4. The use of search engines has been pretty high — 92% for home loans, 89% for credit card enquiries, 84% before seeking a banking service, an insurance product or a remittance, 83% for personal loans and 75% before making an investment in a fixed deposit, mutual fund, equitylinked financial products.
5. The study also reveals a consumer uses nearly 15 information sources before buying a product like home loan. And nine of these are internet-based information sources.
6. Majority of internet financial purchasers in India are educated males between the age of 30 and 35 .
7. The study said reputation of the financial brand plays a vital role in the final purchase decision. And herein, trust and company reputation have emerged as key reasons, much ahead of factors such as rate, customer service and past experience.

What Influences Consumers to go for Online Research:

1. About 62 per cent of the respondents went online for further product information, after they had come to know about the products from their friends.
2. Nearly 58 per cent and 52 per cent respondents went online for further research after they became aware about the financial products through TV and print ads respectively. Only 22 per cent respondents were influenced by radio ads to explore the products online.
3. While 47 per cent respondents had used consumer reviews, 41 per cent respondents relied on social networking sites and 29 per cent relied on blogs to get information about the products.

More Google research
Google Research:18% of all financial products are sold online
Google India's study on Consumer Buying behaviour
Google Research: How people react to TV commercials