According to new research from Yahoo! and ChannelForce, consumers who search online for televisions and digital cameras spend ten percent more when making their purchase in-store than those who did not use a search engine. The survey also found that a vast majority research products online prior to making in-store purchases, and that online research is helping consumers make key purchasing decisions before they enter a store.

  Key findings include:  

• Seventy five percent who researched their purchases before visiting a retail location used the Internet as their primary source of information. The leading online resources were retail Web sites (73 percent), manufacturer websites (68 percent) and search engines (49 percent).
• Those who search spend an average of $31 more on digital cameras and $46 more on digital camera packages; and an average of $139 more on TVs and $190 on TV packages.
• More than 80 percent of consumers who research before making a purchase end up buying a brand from their original consideration set.  The remaining 20 percent said the in-store sales person was highly influential in their decision.
• About 75 percent of people did not know the model they wanted when they walked into a retail store.

 David Rubinstein, senior director, Yahoo! Search Marketing, says "This study confirms and quantifies that a more informed consumer is a more valuable consumer... "

 Kurt Higgins, president, ChannelForce, noted "... the brand experience begins well before the shopper walks into the store, and this study confirms how critical the in-store experience is to the consumer's decision..."