From Gib Olander's MediaPost article on local search:
According to comScore, nearly 90% of people will research online and buy offline. In fact, the trend is so popular that it was recently coined, "ROBO," (Research Online Buy Offline) by Yahoo's GM of Local, Frazier Miller... ROBO is changing consumers' definition of "window-shopping." Now the Internet is becoming the vantage point through which consumers gauge the retail landscape.
And from WCBSTV, on the exterior touch screens at Ralph Lauren Rugby's Manhattan store:
If you're on the outside looking in, not only can you find out how much the new fall looks cost but now you can buy them all without ever stepping foot inside the store. It's 21st century window shopping. Just like you would on your computer screen at home, shoppers can view images of everything Rugby carries and more. When you see a product you like, just touch it and with a swipe of a credit card it's yours, any time -- day or night.
PC Magazine Editor-in-Chief Lance Ulanoff thinks this kind of self-service technology will become increasingly popular because it puts consumers in control.
So we'll be searching online online for offline stores that we'd visit to buy things online? Or could mobile devices like the iPhone blur the line between being on- versus offline?
What if I could start at Ralph Lauren Rugby's website, pick out a list of items I'd like to try on, send them to a shopping cart on my phone, then purchase the outfits I want - either right in the dressing room or hours after I've left the store?
Thoughts like this make me glad that I have an iPhone.
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