The Basics of ROBO Shopping

Posted on 8 February 2008 by Vikram Sharma No Comments

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ShopLocal has done more to understand today’s multi-channel shopper than just about any other company. Over the years, we’ve been watching how and where consumers shop, and we’ve come to an inescapable conclusion: There’s a new reality in multi-channel marketing. We call this the ROBO (research online, buy offline) shopping phenomenon.

One thing we know for sure: While consumers are spending more of their time online, they’re spending more of their money offline at the local store. And, once they get there, they spend an average of $154 in incremental purchases.¹

Clearly, the role of the Web has changed. What was once a powerful tool for generating online commerce revenues, the Web now serves as a shopping information service. In fact, online commerce, at 10 percent of total retail activity, is showing signs of reaching a plateau. While online-influenced offline sales are growing by leaps and bounds. According to a report by Forrester Research, they’ll reach $1 trillion by 2011!²

Online and Online-Influenced Retail Sales

Increasingly shoppers are using the Web as the first stop in their multi-channel experience. Online advertising can play an important role in tapping the potential of these new consumers. Yet, in 2006, Fortune 500 companies allocated only 7 percent of their marketing budgets to online media. When you consider the potential for the Web to influence sales at the local store, it simply doesn’t compute.³

The Online/Offline Balance is Out of Whack

Clearly, there’s a gap between consumer behavior and advertising spend. Gaining control of your online advertising is not just about capturing online sales any more. More and more, it’s about influencing what and how consumers buy offline. ShopLocal is here to close that gap.