Keeping Up With The New Omnichannel Shopper

By Brian Kilcourse, RSR Research

IBM offers a useful "model" to explain how consumers shop: They investigate products and services, then select the solution that most fits their needs, then pay for the selected goods and services, then take possession of the chosen solution. Prior to the widespread consumer adoption of the Internet as an information resource (let's put that date at 1995, when browser pioneer Netscape IPO'd), all of those activities usually happened in the store, and usually in one trip. Shoppers would typically walk into a store take a look around to see what was being promoted or featured, compare the features and prices of what was being offered, make their selections, go through the checkout process, and walk out the door with new their purchases — very simple!