Consumer research by Google has shown that 28% of customers use their smartphone to research a venue before eating out.
Google’s Consumer Barometer 2015 – which uses data collected from over 400,000 respondents across 56 countries – also shows 28% of restaurant guests begin researching an hour or less prior to making a purchase decision. In total, 31% of all sales in the restaurant sector are driven by online research, the research shows with 81% using the web to research accommodation options.
On general usage, the research shows that 71% of people in the UK have a smartphone compared to the European average of 61%, and 60% use search engines via their smartphone at least once a week.
Brits also have more devices than ever, with the average UK consumer now owning 3.3 devices, up 10% from 2014. The research shows 51% own tablets and 75% own personal computers.
A total of 85% go online at least once a day, with that figure rising to 92% amongst those under 44 years old.
Peter Cory, agency sales director at Google, said: “Consumer habits are changing fast, making it challenging for brands to understand and predict how and when it’s best to reach them. In the UK alone, we’ve seen significant increases in the number of devices owned and that’s having a direct effect on the way consumers conduct their day-to-day lives - how they consume media, how they research products and how, when and where they buy.”
