Multi-channel marketing is predicted to increase in importance over the coming years, with 83.4 million US consumers researching products online, then buying offline, according to US analysts eMarketer’s new ‘Consumer Selling Online’ report.
The increasing empowerment of consumers via the internet has resulted in them having the ability to compare old products, find new ones, communicate with other shoppers and even find lower-cost products, without walking into a store.
Commenting on the new report, Jeffery Grau, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report said: “In this new fast-paced, compare by click shopping world retailers have to meet consumers wherever, whenever and however they want to shop.”
Internet analysis company, Doubleclick reported in its multi-channel shopping study that 57% of multi channel shoppers browse in one channel and buy in another. Out of the six possible combinations of browsing/buying behaviour, Doubleclick found that the largest percentage, 43%, browsed online, but then bought in-store. In contrast, only 16% browsed in-store and bought online.
Discussing the findings, Grau said: “The research phase of the consumer buying process can be perilous for online retailers whose product consumers typically research before buying. Consumers not only move easily across channels but also across retailers. So, for example, a customer might begin browsing at one retailer’s website, go to a third-party site to conduct research and then end up buying from a second retailer.”
He added: “In a store, or even a catalogue, there is more friction to inhibit ‘shopping around’, on the internet, the next merchant is only a click away.”
Analysts, EMC2 identified in a recent study that the most popular internet destination for research is search engines, with 46% of respondents using the medium. The study revealed that 39% navigated directly to a retail site.
New research by global research agency Millward Brown revealed that the UK is leading the internet in terms of its online shopping habits, with just over a quarter of UK consumers spending more than £1000 via the web during 2004, compared to a European average of just 15% (see UK Leads Europe In Online Spending).
The study showed that 30% of Britons purchased over 16 items online over the past year, compared with just 19% across Europe. Sweden is the only European country to come close to the UK’s online spend, with 24% of respondents spending more than £1000 in the past 12 months.
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