What's Inside 

When people talk about the influence that the web has had on consumer spending they often refer to eCommerce, or online purchasing. Little or no attention is paid to the effect it can have on offline buying behavior or the retail purchases that are initiated online. According to the Australian Centre for Retail Studies, about 50% of people research their next purchase online before they head in-store to purchase and the trend is not any different in the United States with online influenced retail sales topping $669 billion in 2007.