Despite, or perhaps because of, the greater opportunities to compare products and prices online, Newsworks ‘How people buy’ research found a high proportion of shoppers worry about making a mistake when buying a product, particularly with bigger purchases.

It found that shoppers become more confident towards the end of their path to purchase. When it comes to bigger purchases, two thirds of shoppers are choosing between two brands from the outset. For consumers who have just one brand in mind before shopping, seven in 10 do not even try another brand.

The research found that brand preferences help consumers feel more certain about their purchases, with media playing an important role in the ongoing framing of brand perceptions, helping people to form opinions as they semi-consciously absorb information on products, brands and retailers.

Dr Nick Southgate, behavioural economics expert, who helped conduct the research, said: “When people make decisions, what they truly desire is to make a confident decision. Regret, and the anticipation of regret, shadows our decisions and undercuts confidence.”

Denise Turner, insight director at Newsworks, added: “We know from our own experiences and previous research that the path to purchase is a complex one, rather like a pinball machine. Decision-making is often irrational, even more so now that consumers have access to information 24/7. It is in this context that we’re reframing the consumer journey and looking at the roles of different media channels along the path to purchase. Newsbrands play a vital role in giving people confidence that they are making a good decision.”

In addition, Newsworks is released a new planning tool for media agencies using the results from its new ‘How people buy’ research project which allows media planners to determine the right channels to help move people along the consumer decision journey when planning campaigns.