The outlook for using the Internet to research purchases before going to local stores, otherwise known as Web-to- store (W2S) shopping, is stronger than online e-commerce, according to new research released this week.

The 2005 U.S. Web2Store Benchmark Survey was conducted by The Dieringer Group and commissioned by ShopLocal.com. The study, which measured shopping patterns during the last three months of 2004, found W2S shoppers spend $1.60 offline for every dollar they spend online. Affluent shoppers spend $1.98 at local retailers for each $1 they spend online.

The DRG estimates 83.4 million U.S. consumers made offline purchases impacted by online information during 2004, up 19 percent from the prior year. Approximately 80 million shoppers used the Internet during the fourth quarter for W2S shopping.

“This is the most in-depth study ever conducted to understand the perceptions, activities and motives of W2S shoppers,” said Brian Hand, President and CEO of ShopLocal.com and its parent company, CrossMedia Services Inc.

“Based on these results, it’s clear shoppers prefer to use the Internet to find and better understand what they want to buy before making their purchases at local stores,” said Hand. “This benchmark research drives the conclusion that the outlook for W2S shopping is stronger than online e-commerce and has enormous potential for all retailers, from national brands to small stores.”

Online purchasing is limited by a variety of factors reported in the study, such as product size, shipping costs, delays and shoppers desires to support the local economy. According to the study, the growth outlook for W2S shopping is robust for retailers who use the Internet to drive shoppers to their local stores.

“Not everybody wants to buy everything online,” said Thomas Miller, Senior Consultant, The Dieringer Research Group, who pointed to research findings that among all W2S shoppers, 70 percent say they do more W2S shopping now than they did a year ago and 48 percent plan to do more W2S shopping in 2005.

“Trust, efficiency and a desire to save time and money while making informed purchasing decisions are traits W2S shoppers share,” said Miller. “W2S shopping dramatically amplifies the impact of the Internet on retailing.”

Other significant findings from the study include:

  • W2S shoppers typically purchased five products and spent a median of $400 at local stores after conducting online research during the three-month period prior to the survey. By comparison, W2S shoppers purchased three products online and spent a median of only $250 online during the same period.
  • W2S shoppers say they typically spent an additional $200 (median) in local stores above and beyond purchasing the products that that they had researched online before visiting the stores.

  • W2S shoppers also rely on the Internet nearly twice as much for local purchasing information as compared to traditional shopping information media, such as newspapers advertisements and inserts, local television and radio ads, and other media.

The U.S. Web2Store Benchmark Survey is a survey of 1,101 consumers who used the Internet to research products or stores prior to making a local shopping trip during the last three months of 2004.

The interviews were conducted online during the last week of December 2004 and the first week of January 2005. The DRG designed the survey in consultation with ShopLocal.com, which co-sponsored the research.