• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, May 9, 2007

The good news for retailers is that the Internet continues to play a gargantuan role in driving sales in stores. Cross-channel sales--consumers who research a product online, but then go to a regular store to buy it--now account for almost $390 billion, or 16% of total retail sales.

The bad news is that as cross-channel shopping continues to expand, consumers are becoming increasingly motivated by product price rather than the retailer's brand name, according to a new report from Forrester Research Inc.

"Cross-channel shoppers are gaining in number and influence," the report says, with 51% of online shoppers saying they have crossed channels in the last three months, an 8% gain since 2004.

Forrester expects cross-channel sales to grow 17% per year over the next five years, "outpacing eCommerce growth, which is positioned to grow at a more modest 13% over the next five years." By 2012, it expects cross-channel sales to reach $1.1 trillion, or 38% of total retail sales.

But only 57% of those shoppers purchased the product from the retailer they researched online--and those who switched did it mainly because another store had the item for less money.

The report also found that most cross-channel shoppers have four traits in common:

They are becoming more and more mainstream, in terms of both age and how long they've been shopping on the Internet. But compared to other Internet shoppers, they are still more likely to be married, affluent, younger, and college-educated, and have access to high-speed Internet connections.

They are most often using the Web for high-ticket and complex purchases, especially consumer electronics. The next most common categories include home décor/appliances, tools/hardware/garden supplies, computers (both hardware and software), apparel, and cars.

They need it now. While they are likely to use the Web to find out everything they need to know to make a purchasing decision, 51% of these shoppers say "I wanted the product immediately," and head to a traditional retailer to make their purchase.

They want to pay less. About 40% of cross-channel shoppers say they went to a brick-and-mortar store to beat shipping costs.