Search Engines Top Consumer Choice

A new study reports that search engines are the first step in comparison shopping research for most consumers; that more travel arrangements are made online than offline; and that younger shoppers ignore sponsored links more often than the elderly.

Conducted by Harris Interactive and launched by icrossing, the "How America Searches: Online Shopping" study revealed that adult shoppers who research products online before making a purchase decision rely on search engines more than other tools.

Pulling from a nationwide sample of 2,322 US adults, the study said 88 percent conduct some sort of online research at least sometimes prior to making a purchase. For 67 percent of these researchers, search engines are the tool of choice, with 40 percent heading to a Google or a Yahoo! first to find the product or website they're looking for.

Retail websites, used by 57 percent of consumers to research, are the second most popular destinations.

Consumers over 55 years old are more likely (75 percent) to click on sponsored links than those between the ages of 18 and 54 (56 percent).

Of those that make travel arrangements online (purchasing airline tickets, making hotel reservations), 72 percent of them said they were more likely to make those arrangements online than offline.