![Preferred Methods Of Researching & Buying From Multichannel Retailers, March 2014 [CHART]](http://www.emarketer.com/images/chart_gifs/174001-175000/174930.gif "Chart - Preferred Methods Of Researching & Buying From Multichannel Retailers")
Digital channels are now the method of choice for both product research and purchasing. According to a March 2014 study by UPS, comScore and the e-tailing group, 82% of US digital buyers preferred to research products from multichannel retailers on the internet via desktop/laptop (61%), tablet (11%) or smartphone (10%), compared with 13% who said they would rather research items in a physical store.
In addition, digital devices were favored for purchasing products from multichannel retailers, with 55% of respondents preferring to use a desktop/laptop, tablet or smartphone when buying items, vs. 41% who liked to do so in brick-and-mortars. Though smartphones and tablets trailed PCs by a long shot for the preferred digital buying method, that didn’t mean they weren’t seeing any action: 46% of users had made a purchase on such devices. Read the rest at eMarketer.
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