By now everybody knows more and more people are shopping on the Internet. What many don't yet realize is most people who turn to the Internet to learn about products and merchants will end up visiting a local store to make their purchases.
Smart retailers call it "cross-channel shopping." And successful retailers recognize increasing numbers of consumers are doing it.
One of the largest annual studies of US shoppers investigates the specific habits and behaviors of more than 8000 consumers. Last year, the research revealed that most people (65 percent) who shop online also made in-store purchases of the same or similar items. Fully half said they choose to buy in-store because they still want to actually see the goods before they buy. Cross-channel shoppers spend an average $458 on the items they research online but buy off-line.
Here's what makes this so important for brick-and-mortar retailers: when consumers who shop a retailer's web site visit a real-world store, almost half of them (47 percent) end up spending more, an average of $154 more, for additional goods and services.
See how important it is for independent retailers to have a professional eCommerce web site? If your customers can visit your online store to do their product research, your competitor may not get a chance to win that customer. In other words, if people can't shop with you online, you may not only lose the sale of the item researched online, but also the sale of those additional goods and services.
But the best reason to keep these cross-channel shoppers happy may be who they are. The research reveals that this group has higher-than-average income, higher-than-average spending, and really values the convenience and experience of buying in local stores.
Brick-and-mortar store owners understand there's nothing more important than their customer's in-store shopping experience. But today's most successful retailers also realize they must become a cross-channel retailer to take advantage of today's increasingly web shopping consumers.
The good news is: the right eCommerce service can help you open your "second store" in a matter of weeks, and at a fraction of the cost of your first store.