Here at Geary, we like to explore the synergy that can occur when your various marketing methods are tightly aligned, and how several parts of your marketing mix can interact in curious and unexpected ways. Two recent studies reveal just how online marketing efforts can affect offline buying habits.
As reported by SearchEngineWatch, the studies came from comScore and were commissioned by Yahoo! and local search agency TMP Directional Marketing. The first study examined the shopping behavior of 175,000 consumers, comparing the purchasing behavior of people exposed to online exposure to those who had not been exposure but were behaviorally and demographically identical.
The researchers found that those exposed to online search and display advertising tended to ‘pre-shop’ online prior to making a purchase, and this behavior boosted in-store sales. In the study, those who pre-shopped online spent 41 percent more money in-store compared to those who were not exposed to online ads.
In the study commissioned by TMPDM, 3,000 consumers were surveyed about their local searching behavior. A full 83 percent of local searchers followed up offline with a phone call, purchase, or in-store visit. Of those who followed up, 61 percent made purchases.
In addition, the study’s findings underscore the importance of optimizing local search results. Of searchers surveyed, 60 percent said that when looking for local businesses, they viewed the top results as the most relevant. A quarter of respondents didn’t want to scroll down to view more results.
These studies’ results corroborate the findings of earlier studies, such as an Accenture report that found, for example, that 67 percent of searchers prefer to buy in physical store, 69 percent research product features online, and 68 percent comparison-shop online. Lastly, comScore reported last year that 63 percent of purchases related to search occur offline!
These studies are a good reminder that the success of online marketing extends way beyond online sales. Especially when it comes to large purchases, the Internet is a common starting point, but the purchases tend to be made offline. Thus, when measuring the success of an online campaign, marketers need to track the effect online advertising has on in-store purchases.
