Although the "death of brick-and-mortar" was frequently discussed throughout 2017, it's clear now that the idea was more fiction than fact: During the holidays, brick-and-mortar stores actuallyposted year-over-year (YOY) sales gains.

But how consumers shop in-store and what influences their purchasesarechanging.

Recently,Bazaarvoicereleased its second ROBO (research online, buy offline)research report, highlighting how consumer-generated content, such as online reviews, impacts offline purchases.

The report includes research of consumer behavior from more than 30 of the world;s leading retailers, across hundreds of brands and categories. Key takeaways from the report include the following:

  • Nearly half (45%) of brick-and-mortar in-store buyers read online reviews before purchasing products; that's a 15% YOY increase.
  • The ROBO multiplier, which measures how much online reviews influence in-store sales, varies by industry, ranging from $4.73 to $6.07. For example, in the art world, for every dollar of online revenue influenced by review content, reviews influence another $6.07 of in-store revenue.
  • Half of all e-commerce traffic now runs on mobile, making omnichannel marketing vital in today's environment.

You can find the full reporthereand the infographic below. Just tap or click to see a larger version.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Laura Forer

Laura Foreris a freelance writer, email and content strategist, and crossword puzzle enthusiast. She's an assistant editor at MarketingProfs, where she manages infographic submissions, among other things.