Trend to Watch: Research & Purchase Process Is Multi-Channel (4 of 4)

Last but not least, our final learning for the rest of 2010: the evolution of multi-channel behavior.

With searches for "buy online, pick up in store" up by as much as 100% this past December, multi-channel shopping has evolved as the new face of commerce, the norm rather than the exception. In fact, when asked, 34% of consumers researched online before buying offline and 21% researched online and offline, before purchasing online.

As we see, consumers leverage both the online and offline worlds in making their final purchase decisions so retailers must also integrate their strategies to reach the "nonline" consumer.

Source: Google/OTX Post-Holiday Consumer Study, January 2010. Q12 Thinking about your recent Holiday shopping experience, in which of the following ways did you approach your Holiday shopping? Select all that apply. n= 1850.

Posted by Eric Lopez, the Google Retail Team