New CEMA Research Shows Consumers See Internet And Traditional Storefronts Working In TandemWeb Sites Play A Key Role In Consumers' Retail Purchases

The Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) reports that nearly 6 in 10 online shoppers are using both established retail and the Internet in most of their product purchases. CEMA's new research also shows that successful retailers need a Web site to compliment their physical presence. More than 40 percent of consumers who use brick and mortar retail in combination with cyber-retail are more likely to patronize a retailer with a companion Internet storefront. The result holds true across different generational groups, household buying power and types of Internet shopper. The research results were unveiled at CEMA's conference, Retailing & the Internet - A One-Day Investment with Net Payoffs, held recently in Dallas, Texas.""Interesting synergies are taking shape between traditional brick and mortar retailers and the online world,"" said Todd Thibodeaux, Vice President of Market Research and Senior Economist for CEMA. ""Almost 60 percent of online consumers think the Internet has made them more educated shoppers. This education process cuts both ways - some consumers are being educated at retail stores and then buying online, others are educating themselves about products online and then buying at retail."" For retailers who think online shopping is just a fad, cyber consumers cry out the contrary. Conducted via e-mail with 2,725 online households in the United States responding, Online Shopping: Impacts on Consumer Technology found that only 6 percent of respondents think online shopping is just a novelty. In fact, 29 percent of the respondents expect to double their online buying in the next 12 months. More than one-third (35 percent) of online shoppers have made specific visits to a retailer to ""see and learn about a product"" only to leave and purchase the same product from an online retailer. The group most likely to exhibit such behavior are Gen-X shoppers. More than 40 percent of Gen-X online consumers have, in the past 12 months, used a traditional retail store as little more than a product showroom or library where they could see, feel and touch products and then pick the brain of the retail salesperson. The vast majority of all online shoppers opt to consummate the purchase online instead of at a retail store because of price. Online Consumers Using Traditional Retail And The Internet For PurchasesGen-XersVisit retailer, but purchase online - 41%Research product online, but buy at retail - 53%Baby BoomersVisit retailer, but purchase online - 36%Research product online, but buy at retail - 53% Senior CitizensVisit retailer, but purchase online - 28%Research product online, but buy at retail - 45%At the same time consumers are using brick-and-mortar retailers to help facilitate online purchases, a large number also are doing the reverse. Roughly half of all online shoppers are using the Internet as a research tool to make more informed purchases in traditional retail stores. The Internet is providing product research, price and feature comparisons, product reviews and other information. The flow from Internet research to brick-and-mortar sales is not differentiated to any large extent by generations. Gen-X and Baby Boomers are equally likely (53 percent) to use the Internet as a tool for traditional purchases. Only seniors are less likely to (45 percent) to utilize the Internet as a tool. Purchases by households with less buying power (less than $25,000) are less likely than higher income households to use the Internet to research their traditional retail purchases, but they are more likely than higher income households to do the opposite. The factor playing the largest role in differentiating how brick-and-mortar retail interacts with electronic commerce is the primary benefit a consumer derives from Internet shopping. Online shoppers who think saving money is the biggest benefit of the Internet are the group most likely (61 percent) to use traditional retail as a prelude to online purchases. Savings conscious online shoppers are 33 percent more likely to go from retail to Internet than the next closest type of shopper-consumers who like the Internet because it makes them smarter shoppers. These two shopper types (about 20 percent of online shoppers combined) are much more likely to go from retail to e-commerce than Internet shoppers looking for convenience and selection. Regardless of the type of shopper, the survey shows that when a shopper goes to a store and then shops online, he or she does so in order to find lower prices. Going back the other way, from Internet to retail, is of greatest importance to consumers who like the Internet because it makes them smarter shoppers.