And now Google has launched the Consumer Barometer 2014 in Nigeria to enhance the understanding of how Nigerians and people across the globe deploy the internet for commercial activities. Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s Communication and Public Affairs Manager for Anglophone West Africa, Says this switch is sure to make the Consumer Barometer an invaluable asset to advertisers, agencies and journalists, who seek creative insights into the shopping behaviour of consumers in the country. “Our research shows that smartphones are becoming a vital part of online shopping in Nigeria with about 85% of shoppers using them for product research as against 30% who used computers and 6% using tablets,” he said. Brands and their marketers are then likely to reach their greatest online audience by focusing their marketing communications on the smartphone. The Consumer Barometer provides insights like this and much more. It is a free tool anyone can use to create and download customised data and market-specific information. These can help users discover anything from: how often people go online, to how many connected devices they may have, how people research and purchase online, the influence of online video on their shopping habits or the differences between generations and their online behaviour.” Now in its fourth year, Google created the Consumer Barometer to provide professionals such as marketers with the latest consumer insights to support their devising of sales strategies and planning in a fast changing digital landscape. According to Juliet Ehimuan, Google’s Country Manager for Nigeria, the Consumer Barometer remains the most comprehensive free tool for anyone looking to understand and compare how people use the internet around the world. “For the 2014 edition, we worked closely withHive, a London-based digital products and services design studio and the work involved 150,000 respondents in 46 different countries and profiled vertical sectors as clothing and footwear, home appliances, flights, hotels, cosmetics and groceries. Using state-of-the-art technology to crunch the mammoth datasets and make the interface feel more responsive and easier on the eye, we believe we’ve come up with our most detailed and user-friendly Consumer Barometer yet.” The new Consumer Barometer 2014 can be found at www.consumerbarometer.com
