multi-channel on the rise: research and/or buy

 

Here is an interesting video posted on the google retail advertising blog. Neilsen concluded that Multi-channel/cross-channel spend is higher on average than customers who frequent one channel only, or example - stores.

Here's the google retail blog post - http://googleretail.blogspot.com/2008/12/pinpointing-value-of-multi-channel.html

There is a lot of consonance with analyst findings to substantiate the thoughts expressed in this interview. The advantage of course is that with the information sharing afforded by the web and comparison shopping sites, customer have better information related to price, choice and product reviews which makes them smarter shoppers. By researching online, customers get reviews which are a result of collaborative sharing: advice, warnings, positive recommendations and a purchase which is much more satisfying!

While this information may seem to overburden the customer, the organization of this intelligence is getting better, please see the previous post. All in all the net is effectively becoming the all knowing and impartial salesperson. This part of the customer purchase process is becoming better and the day of the broadcast ad while still maintaining those tenants of Con-B and retention, we may not need to retain brand as the overriding contributor to a purchase decision. Signing that check or sliding that credit card is only the lag action in the buying process, research into the product is the major bulk of the purchasing process.

here's an interview with AIS Media, Founder which aired on Fox business - for every $1 spent online, $6 is influenced for store purchases. This means that basic con-b and branding marketing strategies are also getting impacted here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lcGZcmyW3g

And retailers remember - a happy customer, after independent research is more likely to come back.

For those who find this interesting, you may also want to check out multi-channel reports by leading analyst firms like Forrester, AMR, Gartner etc.