Multi-channel Mindset

Are you a multi-channel shopper? If you shop online and in traditional stores, count yourself among the 78 percent of shoppers who claim to use two or more channels. If you use three or more channels, you’re in a smaller, more elite group of shoppers: Only 30 percent consumers spread their spending across three channels.

These findings are part of a larger study conducted by Art Technology Group, a Cambridge, Mass.-based provider of commerce solutions. The key finding to emerge from the survey of some 1,000 consumers: Merchants need a broader cross-channel approach to drive sales and enhance customer experiences. In addition, the findings suggest that there is an opportunity for merchants to increase online sales and improve contact center efficiency by offering more information on the web.

“Merchants have heard the call for a stronger cross-channel strategy for many years, but what has been lacking is a deeper explanation about why this is so important,” says Nina McIntyre, senior vice president of marketing for Art Technology Group. “We are seeing a multi-channel revolution … [and] retailers must direct their energy toward fulfilling the unique role and sales potential of each channel.”

According to the study, 43 percent of consumers begin their research online or through a mobile device, but need to contact a customer service or call center representative to complete the transaction because the necessary product or service information cannot be found online.

Nearly four in 10 (39 percent) browse via online or mobile channels and then make purchases in the store because they prefer to touch and feel the product; 36 percent do this to compare several brands of the same product. And, despite some skeptics’ view that catalogs are in their twilight years, 78 percent of those polled say they use catalogs to browse and research products or services at least four times a year.