In Case You Missed It... May 2012

••• retailing research

Mobile technology helps consumers shop in-store, buy online

It’s no secret that young, tech-savvy women are the likeliest candidates to integrate mobile technology into their in-store shopping but with the Internet at their fingertips while out and about, it’s hard to ignore the attractive online prices that beat out big-box stores. 
Minneapolis research company ClickIQ conducted a study find out which retailers technology-enabled shoppers visited to research a product and where they eventually purchased the product. Respondents possibly visited more than one retailer but retailers most frequented by these respondents were Best Buy (36 percent), Walmart (30 percent) and Target (29 percent).
To find out what happened after the in-store research was complete, respondents were asked where they eventually purchased the product they were researching. From the survey results, Best Buy did the best job of retaining the sale, as 35 percent of those who researched at Best Buy ended up purchasing at the Best Buy store, with another 14 percent purchasing at bestbuy.com. Another 21 percent purchased the product from Amazon. Of those who did their research at Target, 29 percent purchased at the Target store, 8 percent purchased at Target.com and 21 percent purchased from Amazon. Walmart retained the in-store purchases of 26 percent its shoppers, while 10 percent purchased at Walmart.com. Walmart lost 24 percent to Amazon.
When respondents were asked why they made the purchase where they did, an overwhelming 67 percent stated price as the determining factor. Lagging behind was availability (14 percent), features (8 percent), free shipping (7 percent) and already at the store (4 percent).

••• consumer research

White alright: the reign of Betty continues

Betty White continues to be the most appealing celebrity in America, enjoying a second year at the top of the list, according to the results of an annual report on the state of the celebrity market from E-Poll Market Research, Encino, Calif. Others in the top 10 include Sandra Bullock, Michael J. Fox, Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Morgan Freeman, Clint Eastwood, Carol Burnett, Pauley Perrette and Cote de Pablo. Dropping out of the top 10 was Will Smith.
Parks and Recreation funnyman Aziz Ansari heads the list of biggest gainers, with a 16-point gain in appeal. Melissa McCarthy, Aaron Rogers and Andy Samberg are also notable names from the top-10 gainers.
Tyler Perry and Shaun White experienced the largest declines in likability. Perry was in the news for the portrayal of characters in his movies and TV show, while White’s appeal sagged in a non-Olympic year. Paula Deen, Mark Sanchez and Selena Gomez also appear on the list of biggest decliners.
The Up-and-Comers category tracks celebrities who may be poised for a breakout, measuring the biggest gains in awareness among celebrities with less than 15 percent total awareness. Supermodel Miranda Kerr heads this list, which also contains Jennette McCurdy (iCarly), Cory Monteith (Glee) and Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls).