Online presence drives sales offline, a new report confirms
Even consumers who aren’t making purchases online are being influenced to buy offline by what they see on the web, according to a new report by The NPD Group Inc. of Port Washington, NY. 92% of consumers with online access use the Internet to shop and/or purchase, says NPD Group. And 84% of “occasional” buyers polled in the NPD Group survey – those who say they’ve made an online purchase once in the past six months or less often – report that they go online to shop and research products before going offline to purchase.
“Measuring online sales alone can’t capture the full benefit of a retailer having an Internet presence,” says Pamela Smith, vice president of NPD Online Research. “We know that even consumers who don’t typically purchase online are using retailers’ web sites to browse and decide what to buy. Although it may not result in a purchase at that time, it could translate directly into an offline sale.” Of the shoppers surveyed, 51% say they shop online and purchase offline. A total of 40% say they shop online and purchase online, while 9% say they shop offline and purchase online.
The NPD Group report also looked at how different types of consumers move among multiple channels Those who currently shop at mass merchandisers say they’re likely to remain more loyal to traditional store locations for future purchases while those who shop primarily by catalog say they’re turning to the web to make more purchases.
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