Multi-channel shopping: The future is now

Our first global survey of online shoppers reveals a world rife with online "experts" who shop across all product categories, not just music or books. This online savvy comes with increased demands for faster service, more selection, and more transparent information in shipping and tracking of goods.

Below are some highlights from this year’s report.
  • 48% of respondents shopped across all 11 of our retail categories in the past 12 months, from groceries to electronics to furniture
  • More than 80% of all respondents research online before they buy electronics, computers, books, movies and music
  • Online shoppers in China shop far more often than those in any other market, an average of 8.4 times per month
  • Switzerland online shoppers are the least frequent buyers, at an average of just 2.3 times per month
  • Price ranked second to convenience in terms of reasons why shoppers were attracted to online retailing
  • A vast majority of online shoppers -- even the prolific ones -- narrow their preferred online retail destinations to five or less
  • Online shoppers follow brands on social media -- but only 3% of our respondents use these sites to shop