US consumers are increasingly “channel-hopping” while shopping, finds Cisco in a January study. The study takes a close look at the “Digital Mass Market,” which comprises close to 8 in 10 shoppers. These shoppers are characterized by their use of digital sources – including a PC (97%), mobile phone, tablet, or touchscreen (55%) – to help them decide what to buy, and consists of Gen Y (18-29) and Gen X (30-49) males, and Gen X and Boomer (50-64) females, with an almost even gender split. Within this key market segment, 29% have purchased in-store after searching on a mobile device, and 33% have purchased online from a PC after beginning their journey on a mobile device.Those figures are up from 24% and 26%, respectively, in the previous year’s survey.
One other cross-channel activity also increased in 2012 as compared to 2011, according to the study. 65% of the Digital Mass Market researched on a PC before buying in-store, up from 57% the previous year. The kiosk-to-store purchase path held steady at 18%, as did the store-to-online (commonly referred to as “showrooming”) path, at 40%. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.
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