Multichannel Marketing Links Consumers Experiences

An online survey conducted by ATG, shows that consumers are using multiple channels to research, shop and purchase, and catalogs area strong driver to the web.

Nearly one-third of consumers say they rely on more than three of different channels (online, in-store, print catalogs, mobile devices, customer service reps) from the time they start researching products and services to when they complete the purchase; Eight out of 10 say they (78%) use at least two or more channels to do their purchase research.

78% of consumers said they use catalogs to browse and discover new products and services, and six out of 10 consumers surveyed say that make purchases via catalogs four times a year or more.

Mobile commerce is playing a role in the cross-channel experience, particularly with younger consumers


•27% of consumers 18 and older are using their mobile devices to browse or research products and services at least periodically--this number jumps to 41% for the 18-34 year-old age group.
•13% of consumers are using them to make purchases at least four times a year.

•The 18-34 age group makes the greatest use of mobile devices for commerce, with 23% making purchases on their mobile devices at
least four times a year, 15% doing this monthly and 8% doing it weekly.

"On average, more than three-quarters of consumers are using two or more channels to browse, research, and purchase products. Because consumers are coming to merchants through multiple channels, it’s necessary to link those experiences and create a continuous conversation to avoid gaps where the sale could be lost. Merchants don’t have to necessarily serve up the identical experience in each channel, but rather optimize and connect channel interactions to deliver consistent brand experiences."