According to JiWire’s Q4 2010 Mobile Audience Insights Report, 20 percent of the on-the-go-audience has visited a physical store after seeing a location-specific ad (emphasis mine). Promotions, store proximity, and product availability are all significant factors driving mobile users of location-based services into stores. Similarly, many consumers who begin their shopping process with online research continue to go to a store to make their final purchase, citing lack of product information, a desire to touch and feel the product, and the ability to compare multiple products among other factors keeping them from purchasing online.
Brick and mortars aren’t going away. Rather, the rapid rise of mobile shopping and location-based services have set the stage for a new kind of shopping experience, one that blends online, in-store and mobile into a single, fluid system that finally allows consumers to get what they want, for the price they want, when they want it. Retailers that can successfully weave together these experiences have an opportunity to emerge from this period as the new giants – and increase the bottom line of all three channels.
Read the full article: blogs.forbes.com