eBuzz - Online's Good For Offline, Too!

Online's Good For Offline, Too!

A recent comScore study, commissioned by Yahoo!, has examined the impact that online advertising (including search) has on offline sales.

The study looked at shopping behavior of 175,000 panelists between April 2006 and January 2007 and compared the purchasing behavior of those exposed to online advertising with that of those who were not exposed, but who were otherwise behaviorally and demographically identical, looking at in-store purchases at five major retail stores.

According to Kevin Newcombe of ClickZ,

"The study showed that consumers exposed to online search and display advertising are more likely to 'pre-shop' online prior to purchase, and this behavior ultimately leads to increased in-store sales. These 'pre-shoppers' spend an average of 41 percent more in-store when compared to consumers not exposed to online advertising.

It also found that users exposed to search and/or display ads were more engaged, viewing an average of six more pages during their research. Those exposed to both search and display ads were most engaged, and spent more in-store, on average."

It's clear from this information that even companies that have no active search campaigns benefit from the availability of their websites to search activity, and those with engaged search campaigns will reap the benefits, not only with online visits, but with offline purchasing as well. Any company doing business online (and offline!) should consider adding

And that's our take on the news today!

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