According to a survey by Empathica as reported by Warc, a majority of North American consumers prefer buying products in-store to doing so online.
Regarding purchase habits, 21% of respondents agree in-store experiences are typically better than the online equivalent, 15% take the opposite stance, and 36% state these channels are evenly matched. Despite this, 69% favor making most acquisitions in bricks-and-mortar outlets, while 22% afford the Web a parallel status.
One digital activity that has proved especially popular is using comparison sites, as 72% of contributors have utilized the Net to conduct research, monitor prices, and complete transactions.