69% of purchasers research online, 67% make purchases in physical stores

An Accenture survey found that the majority of consumers use the Internet as part of the shopping process even if they go to stores to purchase or pick up items. While two-thirds (67%) of survey respondents said they prefer to make purchases in physical stores respondents also said they research product features online (69%), compare prices online before shopping in a physical store (68%) or use the Internet to locate items online before going to a store to purchase (58%). Only 13% of respondents said the Internet has not improved their in-store shopping experience. More than two-thirds (67%) of respondents reported that, when shopping in physical stores, they often find too few registers are open and more than half (54%) say there are not enough sales people available. Many respondents said they will go elsewhere if they don’t find the appropriate selection at a certain store; this is particularly true for items such as footwear (81%); music, movies and books (78%); and jeans (76%).