For Christmas Sales, Local Retailers Need to Advertise Online

A great post on SearchEngineWatch detailing how significant "research online, purchase local" has become. Attention local advertisers: you should be placing online local advertising for your Christmas season now.

Citing an Accenture report, the post says

• 67 percent of survey respondents prefer to make purchases in physical stores
• 69 percent research product features online
• 68 percent compare prices online.
• 58 percent said they locate items online before going to a store to purchase
• Only 13 percent said the Internet plays no part in their offline shopping
  

The post also says, "The Kelsey Group research indicates that with purchases over $500, where the Internet is the starting point, over 90 percent of the transactions finish offline. comScore meanwhile reported last year that 63 percent of search related purchases happen offline; and The U.S. Census Bureau reports that e-commerce represents only 2.5 percent of U.S. retail spending."

For the sake of your Christmas season, which this year will start at Halloween according to the National Retail Federation, get your online advertising in gear.