More than two-thirds of online shoppers across several product categories still make the bulk of their purchases at physical retail locations. Yet 62% use a combination of online and offline sources to gather information before they buy, Yahoo! and OMD study says. Consumers say the Internet is the most trusted shopping information source (54%), followed by magazines (34%) and TV (23%). 74% of people use trusted, familiar Web sites when purchasing online, and 55% opt-in for e-mail marketing messages from companies they trust.
38% of consumers still want to be able to see and touch products before they buy. The Internet helps narrow down options before they purchase either online or offline. 61% agree that Internet search engines are one of their favorite tools for finding product information. 61% of people consider themselves to be serious bargain shoppers. 63% of consumers gather information when they first begin researching a purchase, 57% when they are narrowing down their options, 42% when they are deciding where to buy, and 51% when making their final decision. 25% of people have posted reviews of products or services online, providing a service to other shoppers.