High-Value Consumers demand a seamless Cross-Channel Experience.

Sterling Commerce, an AT&T Inc. subsidiary, released the results of a recent survey that shows how consumers want to interact with retailers across channels. The survey found that “high-value” consumer groups – higher-income consumers, college graduates and younger consumers – have made cross-channel shopping a standard, indicating to retailers that achieving cross-channel execution can increase consumer loyalty and share of wallet. Increasingly, consumers are using the Web as a first touch-point and want to channel-hop to complete their purchases, making integration across channels essential to retail success.

The survey, which polled 1,005 adults between January 18 and 20, 2008, found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of all respondents went online before making a purchase in the past three months. That percentage was even higher for “high-value” consumers, such as those with household incomes of about $75,000 (81%), college graduates (78%) and consumers age 25 to 34 (77%).

The survey also queried consumers about which cross-channel activities they deemed to be most important. The top three were:

– The ability to return merchandise to a store even if it was purchased via telephone or online (81% “very important/important”).
– The ability to pick up merchandise at a store after ordering online (56% “very important/important”). Store pickups are particularly important to younger adults (69% of those 25 to 34 years old).
– The availability of gift registry information in the store, online and over the telephone (56% “very important/important”). As with store pickups, having gift registry information available in multiple channels is particularly important to those 25 to 34 years old (66% “important”).

“Leading retailers are spoiling consumers with cross-channel capabilities — such as returning online purchases to a store, or in-store pickup for purchases made online — and reaping the rewards of the customer loyalty these capabilities engender,” said Jim Bengier, global retail industry executive for Sterling Commerce. “As this survey shows, consumers are demanding new levels of convenience only found when different shopping channels support each other seamlessly.”

Shoppers are hopping channels to gain more value out of their interactions with a retailer. In turn, the retailer has the opportunity to gain customer loyalty and share of wallet. The Web is becoming an important first touch-point, often serving as a research tool before a store purchase, according to more than half (57%) of the survey respondents. In addition, nearly one-fourth (24%) of respondents reported using a coupon or rebate offer found online. One out of six consumers (18%) checked an online gift registry as part of the purchase process. The percentages are higher for the “high-value” consumer groups:

– Among those with incomes of $75,000 or more, 77 percent conducted research online in advance of an in-store purchase, 32 percent used a coupon or rebate found online, and 25 percent checked an online gift registry within the past three months.
– Among those who are college graduates, 74 percent conducted research online in advance of an in-store purchase, 31 percent used a coupon or rebate found online, and 21 percent checked an online gift registry within the past three months.

Consumers also are expecting away-from-home access to the Web to enhance their shopping experience. One-third of consumers consider it important to:

– To have access to an online kiosk while shopping in the store to conduct product research (37%).
– To have access to their online account while shopping in a store to view items they have tagged online (36%).
– For call center personnel to have a record of what they have been researching online (32%).

The findings are based on a nationwide telephone survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation as part of its Caravanâ omnibus survey service. The final sample included 1,005 adults comprising 503 men and 502 women 18 years of age and older, living in private households in the continental United States. The survey has a sampling error of ±3 percentage points for answers close to 50 percent.

For more information at http://www.sterlingcommerce.com