March 22, 2006 | Wednesday

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Research: Most search conversion happens offline

By Jackie Danicki - Blogger in Marketing |Online Sales |Search Engines |Search Research

This study, published today, puts hard numbers to something that we often tell our clients:

SIXTY-THREE PERCENT OF CONSUMERS WHO made a purchase after conducting an online search closed the deal at a brick-and-mortar store, according to a report issued Tuesday by comScore Media Metrix.

[...]

The split between online and offline conversions varied between the categories, but in each, the majority of conversions were made offline in physical stores, the study found.

As we wrote here, back in December, about measuring search marketing ROI:

Think about this. While the ability to measure the ROI of a search campaign is great - we can track from the click through to purchase, easy as pie - we are bound to be missing out on a substantial amount of additional return. The day we can track from the click through to the drive to the local shopping centre and the handing over of cash at the till, then we will know the full, true return on search investment.

Bottom line: If you’re a ‘clicks and mortar’ retailer using search to drive customers to your site and your shops, pat yourself on the back for using the online marketing tool whose ROI is unquestionably greater than current measurement methods can verify.