When I read the Dieringer Research Group reporting on how the Internet impacts offline spending, and reflecting on what I have done recently, I feel I am among their statistics, showing that "85 per cent of online shoppers have shopped online for a purchase they made offline".
Shopping for my family vacation
Recently, in my search for information on hotels and resorts for a family vacation, I naturally turned to the Internet.
By the third page of a search result, I had retrieved sufficient information and materials to help me decide. Once I had decided, I called the hotel to make a reservation. This is searching for information online and making a purchase offline.
Search engine style 'window' shopping
With the growth of the Internet community, there is an exponential increase in the number of people using search engines to find out more about malls, shops and products.
A physical retail store may stay open from 10am to 10pm. During the hours they are closed for business, it is likely that consumers are searching the Internet to find out more about the products they intend to purchase and where these are available. They may also seek out any store with a website offering a better discount or having a promotion, or one having better product variation.
Maximise your online presence with search engine marketing
If you are a retailer, you need to make your store and what is available in your store known to 'new media shoppers'. To get prominence on any search engine result, you have to ensure that your website is search engine optimised.
Any retailer who is keen to have a web presence can simply employ a web designer who may impress with his ability to create beautiful Flash graphics, with wonderful music accompaniment, impressive layout and attractive, matching colours.
These are definitely great features to have on your website. However, such features do not attract the search engines to evaluate your website and give your site the best ranking for certain popular keywords.
Most web designers are happy that they are able to do just what their clients request for their websites, and want nothing to do with search engine ranking result. It would be a gem to find a web designer with search engine optimisation and marketing expertise.
Among some of the important elements to consider are the keywords which you want to include in your webpage and in the title and description of your webpage or website.
You need to do research to find out the most popular keywords that people use to search for products you are retailing.
To get more to visit your retail website, you may also want to invest in some advertising like pay-per-click programmes to bring prospective customers to your Internet store and website.
With an online store, you can operate 24/7, allowing you to take advantage of a host of business opportunities on the Internet.
And, of course, visitors online can also become your customers offline.
Mr Jolly Tan is an SEO consultant at Finggle Pte Ltd (http://www.Finggle.com). The company helps website owners learn to strategise their websites, and to improve search engine ranking and visibility. The company also provides training and consultancy to organisations in search engine optimisation and search engine marketing.
