According to a new report, titled "Digital Shopper Relevancy" by Capgemini shoppers are not loyal to one channel but expect a seamless integration across online, social media, mobile and physical stores. 72% of digital shoppers surveyed rated internet sites as important or extremely important for learning about products, followed by email and in-store technology such as kiosks. Social media was cited ahead of smartphone applications, with call centers trailing.

According to the IBM new survey of the marketing industry, chief marketing officers and chief information officers must join forces in order to connect with today's consumer across mobile devices and social networks. 60% of marketers point to their lack of alignment with the company's IT department as the biggest obstacle to reaching today's consumers.

According to a new study from Accenture, 64% of shoppers surveyed admitted that their grocery carts were at least half full of store-brand products, and 39% said they have increased their purchase of store-brands in recent years as a result of the tough economic times.

According to a new Insights Report, based on data from 563 million searches and 11 billion impressions in across the YP Local Ad Network, restaurants are the top local search category, while family services represents the fastest growing search category in Q2, 2012.

Nine out of ten 13- to 17-year-olds have used some form of social media. Three out of four teenagers currently have a profile on a social networking site, and one in five has a current Twitter account. 68% of all teens say Facebook is their main social networking site, compared to 6% for Twitter, 1% for GooglePlus, and 1% for MySpace.

According to a new Gallup Poll, U.S. consumers reported spending $70 per day on average in June, essentially unchanged from $73 in May, and similar to June spending levels in each of the past two years. Thus far in 2012, average daily spending has ranged from $63 (in January and February) to $74 (in March). This is in line with the "new normal" reduced spending in place since 2009, narrowly ranging from $58 to $76.

According to the Direct Marketing Association in the recently released 2012 Response Rate Report, direct mail response rates have dropped nearly 25% over the past nine years. Even so, mail campaigns draw a better overall response than digital channels. For instance, response rates for direct mail to an existing customer average 3.40%, compared with 0.12% for email, which is roughly a 30-fold difference.

According to new research from Compete's Online Shopper Intelligence Survey, Pinterest is succeeding in disrupting the social media landscape. About 1 in 4 consumers reports that they are spending less time on other social media sites in favor of Pinterest. And, evidence of this change in behavior says the report is a 3% decline in time spent on Facebook over the last month.

Recent research, conducted by Deloitte Consulting LLP, shows that there may be a more effective approach than sales transactions for determining the impact of mobile and how it influences and drives sales in other channels, particularly in-store sales.

As part of the exploration of the new ecosystem of books, according to the Pew Research Center, their study found that personal recommendations dominate book recommendations, while, at the same time, logarithms on websites, bookstore staffers, and librarians are in the picture.