The Digital Shopping Experience: Today’s emerging features are tomorrow’s experiential essentials

1. LITMUS
The Digital Shopping Experience
Today’s emerging features are tomorrow’s experiential essentials
Foreward
It is widely recognized that online commerce is rapidly becoming a major driver of
retail sales and growth. In fact, some estimates say that by 2012 online sales will
drive up to 50% of retail sales. With statistics this aggressive it is more important
than ever that retailers be able to execute seamlessly across channels to maintain
customer satisfaction and avoid brand fragmentation.
But, just as retailers were implementing their cross-channel strategies, a new
channel was born—mobile commerce, the “fourth channel.” Mobile commerce
opens up bold new opportunities to enhance the integrated shopping experience
and dramatically accelerate growth. At the same time, it raises entirely new cross-
channel integration challenges, as well. The timing was perfect, then, for this
groundbreaking research…which is precisely why Sterling Commerce chose to
sponsor this important endeavor.
The results you find within this report will help you better understand consumer
needs and desires when it comes to online and mobile commerce, as well as,
their perceptions of new shopping capabilities that retailers are considering. This
consumer perspective will be vital as you continue to evolve your cross-channel
strategy. But, time is of the essence. Leading retailers are already employing
the mobile phone as a consumer tool for research, customer convenience, and
making purchases. To remain ahead, retailers are racing to provide a competitively
differentiated shopping experience. And, this report will provide critical insights into
the latest consumer expectations. Make sure you’re ahead of the pack and not at
risk of being left behind.
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

2. Executive Summary
Resource Interactive conducted qualitative and quantitative research into the state
of online retailing and discovered that emerging experiential features—not yet
widely adopted and still requiring a learning curve for most consumers—create the
greatest potential for brand differentiation. Though more narrow in applicability and
appeal, these emerging experiential tools and features, many of which are mobile-
based, are extremely strong in generating consumer consideration, enthusiasm and
preference. Moreover, these emerging features are not the exclusive domain of
young early (tech) adopters; consumers across several demographic groups found
value in many of them. Targeting such a diverse consumer base, however, can only
be made manageable through the careful correlation of customer segments’ needs
and wants with micro-experiences—used here to mean those constituent parts of
the consumer shopping process having discrete value—practical and/or social—in
and of themselves.
Those shopping features that consumers generally agreed were not just appealing
but important—such as ratings and reviews—demonstrate the rapid rate at which
the appealing new feature becomes de rigueur. But focusing exclusively on
providing these features locks retailers into a game of mutual mimicry, wherein
the online shopping experience improves across the board but standardizes in
the process, so that features once considered advanced or enhanced devolve to
commodity status—and so do the brand experiences themselves.
With some of the key research findings about online shopping tools and features,
Resource recast the consumer journey as fish-shaped rather than funnel-shaped,
and concluded that the best metric for the micro-experiences making up this new
nonlinear journey is task completion rate. We also used our findings to take aim at
lingering misconceptions about e-commerce’s relative importance to retail overall.
For instance, the belief that the retail store is and will likely always be the most
important source of inspiration and decision support in the shopping process has
been laid to rest. Too many online features, such as product zoom and rotate and
how-to videos, remove much of the risk involved in shopping alone and without
tactile information.
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

3. Methodology
Resource Interactive asked a nationally representative sample of nearly 2000
respondents1 who had purchased apparel and/or home electronics within the past
year to tell us how important a variety of experience elements2 were in making a
purchase decision. In conjunction with Harris Interactive, Resource also conducted
online focus groups with over 40 respondents3 who tested various experiences over
a four day period, to understand the relative appeal of several experience tools and
to uncover attitudes, behaviors and needs that might represent opportunities. This
qualitative research allowed us to obtain reactions to both existing experiences and
envisioned future prototypes in-context and to probe respondents so as to more
fully understand the reasons for their responses. The research was conducted “blind”
so that respondents could neither see nor react to other participants’ responses.
Resource tested 30 experience tools and features overall4 (see chart on next page).
We focused on the two industry verticals of home electronics and apparel, as
they represent categories slowing and growing, respectively.5 Apparel (including
accessories and footwear) became a bellwether for important trends in 2006, when
online sales increased 61% and outsold personal computers for the first time in the
ten-year history of the internet retailers survey by Shop.org and Forrester Research.
Apparel sales in 2008 are expected to reach $26.6 billion, making it one of the three
strongest online retail categories, according to The State of Retailing Online 2008,
the 11th annual Shop.org study conducted by Forrester Research, Inc. Consumer
(a.k.a. “home” in this paper) electronics is at the other end of the spectrum, with
growth in Q2 2007 vs. Q2 2008 slowing to about 5% according to comScore. Steve
Baker, industry analysis VP for the NPD, predicts 1-3% growth for the fourth quarter
this year and all of 2009, which is slower than the annual 6% and higher increases
enjoyed by consumer electronics for the past decade.
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

4. 30 Experiential Features (Micro-experiences) Tested by Importance
Please indicate how important the ability to do each of the following is or could be to you in
helping you during your shopping and purchasing process for home electronics/apparel, even if
you have not done them before. (Scale: 1, not at all important – 7, absolutely essential)
Unweighted base n=1846 642 1204
Total Mean HE AP Total Mean HE AP
Visting a retail store 4.7 4.7 4.7 Receiving free text notifications for products identified
Obtaining help of a salesperson while in a store 4.5 4.7* 4.4 by your purchase intent 2.1 2.4* 2.0
Use web site to determine product availability in store 4.0 4.5* 3.8 Accessing product comparisons and ratings information
Read ratings & reviews on web site 3.5 4.2* 3.1 via mobile phone (free of charge) 2.1 2.4* 1.9
Control the product view with zoom and rotate 3.4 3.7* 3.2 Receiving mobile text notifications (free of charge) of
Email sales notification for identified products 3.4 3.8* 3.2 of promotions or sales you've selected 2.0 2.2* 1.9
Anonymous checkout 3.3 3.6* 3.2 Storing personal preferences for people you shop for
Buy online, pick up in store 3.2 3.6* 3.0 on your mobile phone 2.0 2.1* 1.8
Web access to loyalty program offers & rewards 3.1 3.3* 3.0 Text notifications of promotions for products in your
Read others' views within a community section of a proximity (sensor) 1.9 2.2* 1.8
retailer's web site 3.0 3.7* 2.6 Mobile phone use (GPS-like) to help you find where
Accessing addtional content on a retailer's web site 3.0 3.7* 2.6 products are located in a store 1.9 2.1* 1.8
Customizing products for special order online 2.9 3.4* 2.7 Accessing loyalty program offers and rewards on a
Viewing video of product in-context on a retailer's mobile phone 1.9 2.1* 1.8
web site 2.8 3.6* 2.3 Mobile phone to request employee assistance while
Dragging and dropping into a virtual workspace on in a store 1.9 2.1* 1.8
a retailer's web site to configure a product or system 2.6 2.8* 2.5 Storing shopping list on mobile phone 1.9 2.1* 1.7
Multiple-store checkout 2.6 2.9* 2.4 Scanning a barcode to add something to a shopping
Online chat with experts 2.4 2.8* 2.2 list stored on a mobile phone 1.9 2.0* 1.7
Asking/posting questions to a community on a Co-shopping 1.9 2.1* 1.6
retailer's site 2.3 2.6* 2.2 Sharing shopping lists via mobile phones 1.7 2.0* 1.6
Store/manage shopping and wish lists for family Survey or polling friends/family for opinions about a
or group on websitee 2.3 2.8* 2.1 product with mobile phone 1.7 1.9* 1.6
*Note: with the exception of visiting of retail store, means were statistically higher for home electronics than for apparel.
*Note: with the exception of visiting of retail store, means were statistically higher for home electronics
than for apparel.
Survey conducted among 1846 US adults.
Results for Home Electronics reported among 642 past year home electronics buyers (n=642)
Results for Apparel reported among 1204 past year apparel buyers (n=1204)
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

5. Findings
The Relative Importance of Select Micro-experiences
Please indicate how important the ability to do each of the following
is or could be to you during your shopping and purchasing process.
Scale: 1, not at all important - 7, absolutely essential)
Visiting a retail store 4.7
4.7
Obtaining help in-store 4.7
4.4
4.5
Inventory visibility 3.8
Ratings & reviews 4.2
3.1
3.7
3.2
Controlling the view (zoom, rotate) 3.8
3.2
3.6
Online purchase w/o register 3.2
Buy online, pick up in-store 3.6
3.0
Web access to loyalty program 3.3
3.0
3.7
Asking/posting to a community 2.6
3.7
Online access to additional content 2.6
3.4
Customizing product online 2.7
3.6
Video viewing online 2.3
2.8
2.5
Home Electronics Apparel
2.9 n=642 n=1204
Multi-store checkout 2.4 past year HE buyers past year APP buyers
The top seven features important to making purchase decisions are unsurprising.
Many retailers are already supporting these experiences, improving them, or
exploring how to do so. Ratings and reviews, for instance, have become an
expected feature of web sites, responding to customers’ need for self-expression
and validation in the form of opinions from other customers. According to
Bazaarvoice, three years ago less than 10% of the top 100 retailers had implemented
ratings and reviews. The value of this experience feature for customers has created
a demand for it and retailers have responded—75% of the top 100 retailers
currently have ratings and reviews.
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

6. But ratings and reviews is a great example of a tool that, if evaluated based
solely on the averages, might leave a large segment of customers with a less than
appealing or relevant experience. While it was at or near the top in both importance
and appeal, it was rated as significantly less important for apparel purchases than for
home electronics. For apparel, the micro experience fell slightly below “controlling
the view,” “receiving email notifications of a sale of an item on wish/shopping list,”
and “making a purchase online without registering.” A review of the qualitative
responses suggests that ratings and reviews are considered to be an invaluable tool
when it comes to researching products that can be considered to have objective
evaluation criteria. For more subjective purchases—where taste and emotion can
trump rational criteria—ratings and reviews lose some of their importance and
appeal. Apparel retailers might create more relevance for ratings and reviews by
enabling customers to align with others who are like them. In other words, provide
affinity-based ratings and reviews, or provide searchable reviews for keywords.
The bottom eight features (chart, page 5) deemed important to purchase also
indicates some interesting category differences. Video viewing online plays a
far more crucial role in consumer electronics purchases than it does in apparel
purchases, reflecting the greater need for user manuals brought to life, where the
actual use of features of some complexity can be demonstrated. (In categories
not tested by Resource, videos can serve as potent testimonials: online merchants
such as PetsUnited, LLC—a niche pet supplies retailer with ten e-commerce sites—
reports that the average sale tied to a video is 50% higher than sales made after
consumers view just text and a product photo.)
Great vertical disparity also exists for “reading community reviews” and “online
access to additional content,” with consumer electronics purchasers deeming them
more indispensable than do apparel shoppers, likely due, again, to the technical
complexity of the products as well as their rapid rates of innovation and obsolescence.
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

7. The Relative Importance of the
Web Compared to Other Channels
As online continues to grow as a sales channel, it is also proving invaluable for
offline sales, though many retailers are slow to recognize this. In 2007, Forrester
Research reports that online sales reached $175 billion, representing 7% of total
retail sales ($2.48 trillion), and are projected to reach 11% of total sales by 2012.
Says Kasey Lobaugh, direct-to-consumer practice leader at consultants Deloitte
LLP, “CEOs will soon recognize that what they thought was 7% of sales driven by
the web is actually about 50%, so there is going to be a big shift in investing in a
webfocused multichannel retailing environment.”
Even though the retail store is and will likely continue to be the number-one channel
for most customers—from trying on apparel to finding inspiration by walking through
a store to making a purchase—Resource Interactive’s study showed that the online
channel is rivaling retail stores in importance as a decision-making vehicle during
the buying process, particularly for home electronics, and has overtaken catalogs,
advertising , and phone support for both home electronics and apparel purchases.
How important were each of the following resources in helping you make your
decisions on what items to purchase?
(Scale: 1, not at all important – 7, absolutely essential)
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Retail Store Online/Internet Advertising Catalog Phone/Landline
HOME ELECTRONICS APPAREL
n=642 n=1204
past year HE buyers past year APP buyers
Absolutely Essential Absolutely Essential
At Least Important At Least Important
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

8. The mean importance of various communication channels
(Scale: 1, not at all important – 7, absolutely essential)
4.7
4.7
Home Electronics 3.2
n=642 2.8
past year HE buyers
2.8
4.8
3.4
Apparel 2.9
n=1204 2.8
past year APP buyers
2.5
Retail Store Online/Internet Advertising Catalog Phone/Landline
For home electronics, respondents rated online as important as retail stores.
For apparel, while the web did not equal stores in importance, 7% of survey
respondents told us that the online channel was absolutely essential 5 in making an
apparel purchase decision, demonstrating a growing web dependence in a category
that still has plenty of opportunity to meet customers’ needs online. Equally
significant were the nearly 50% of respondents who felt it was at least important
and the 65% who felt it was at least somewhat important to their apparel purchase
decision process.
How important were each of the following resources in helping you make your decisions on what
items to purchase? (Scale: 1, not at all important – 7, absolutely essential)
Apparel Electronics
n=1204 past year APP buyers n=642 past year HE buyers
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Retail Store
Retail Store
Online/Internet Online/Internet
Advertising Advertising
Catalog Catalog
Phone/Landline Phone/Landline
Absolutely Extremely Very important Important Somewhat Slightly Not at all
essential important important important important
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

9. The Relative Appeal of Select Micro-experiences
No one would dispute that an exclusive focus on competitive parity results in
consumer experience sameness and diminished opportunities for brand differentiation.
But choosing among the plethora of emerging online experiences with the greatest
potential for your brand means, in many ways, letting customers lead the way.
Relative Appeal of Experience Features
n= 46 US Adults 18-45
buyers of apparel and home electronics
online within past 3 months
We did just that by comparing customers’ quantitative and qualitative reactions to
various experience tools, and learned the following:
1. Importance appears to be correlated with feature ubiquity and/or familiarity.
2. Customers’ ability to save time or money tended to elevate importance, appeal,
or both.
3. Features that replaced or enhanced consumer’s self-created or makeshift
shopping solutions and that build on existing behaviors had higher appeal than
wholly original tools.
4. Some of the less widely adopted or “emerging” features were deemed highly
appealing to the extent that they were applicable to specific product types or very
specific needs of customer segments.
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

10. Importance driven by ubiquity and/or familiarity
The ranking of 30 experience features (for the full list, see Methodology, page 5) in
the quantitative study shows the selected mobile applications at the bottom, likely
due to the relative unfamiliarity U.S. consumers have with them. As with anything
new, it is difficult for consumers to imagine the potential importance of something
they have yet to experience, especially from a line item on a survey. In the focus
group study, however, where Resource Interactive was able to provide context, and
explore more deeply the relative appeal of these envisioned future applications,
many micro-experiences scored higher ratings, including mobile shared shopping
lists. Consumer unfamiliarity with a digital experience feature should not preclude
further exploration of its potential.
Saving time and money is still paramount
There is one constant rule for supporting the consumers’ shopping journey: help
them save time, money or ideally both. This was demonstrated vividly in the
qualitative research, where the respondents were asked to describe the benefits
of each experience. As one respondent put it, “This…saves time and money. What
could be better?” Tools such as multistore checkout, mobile shopping lists, mobile
shared shopping lists, mobile product comparison, receiving email notification of
[relevant] sales, and product configurators were each called out as saving time,
money or both, and generally rated relatively higher in the qualitative assessment.
Respondents were more critical if they felt that using a feature would require too
much effort to use or be limited by device compatibility issues.
Appeal is driven by existing behaviors
When respondents were asked to discuss the primary benefit of emerging
experience tools such as mobile shared shopping lists, many described existing
behaviors involving makeshift solutions to support their needs, indicating
engagement in similar activities. For example, many respondents noted that they
were already using the notes application on their mobile phones to create shopping
lists. The potential to improve the efficiency of this list-making chore by allowing
customers to scan bar codes to automatically add items to their shopping lists
was seen as a major benefit, more so for frequently purchased products (such as
groceries) than for “wishlist”-type purchases. The overall high appeal of mobile
shopping lists, combined with the observation that consumers are already engaging
in the activity, suggests very positive potential for such applications.
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

11. Segmented Appeal
The appealing experience features that ranked lower on the list of eighteen (refer
to Relative Appeal of Experience Tools Chart) either resonated with a narrower
customer segment or were perceived to serve a very specific purpose. Let’s take a
look at a few of these:
Zeroing In On Five Features For A Smaller (But Generally Enthusiastic) Audience
1. Mobile Shopping List
“Now I just have a notes feature on my phone but it is hard to get to.
This would greatly simplify this.”—Brian, 22
“It lessens the use of paper (helps the environment)…”—Jennifer, 32
“I probably wouldn’t use it unless/until the scanning feature was an
option.”—Christina, 22
This shopping feature enables consumers to have one shopping list in their phone
for all the different items they need to buy from different stores and to add an item
to the list by scanning an empty package that they’re about to toss out, or by typing
in an item they know they need. Adding an item to a shopping list is typically a spur
of the moment thing: you just used the last light bulb, the kids just ate the last two
bananas, or you just replaced the AC filters. Rather than keeping lots of paper lists
for different stores, customers could simply have one list in their phones.
Respondents ranked this feature second in terms of appeal. While all of the
mobile tools tested fell toward the bottom of the rankings in terms of importance,
statistically, the mobile shopping list was rated higher in importance with the 18–24
age group than for those 45+, and for households with children—a trend that
carried through to nearly every mobile application tested.
2. Mobile Shared Shopping List
“It would make it easier to get some help with some of the household
responsibilities.”—Christine, 30
“…Much easier than calling someone and expecting them to jot down a
shopping list while they’re driving.”—Penny, 35
Also known as the “Honey Do” feature, this one was of low importance but medium
appeal—with older customers indicating higher appeal than younger ones.6 Retailers
who should prioritize this feature are those selling frequently purchased products
or categories to segments who share chores. It would likely enjoy fast adoption, as
customers are already texting or calling en-route to communicate their shopping
needs. Adding geo-location services could prevent trips back to the store.
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

12. 3. Co-shopping
“Wow. I think this is one of the coolest features yet…will virtually allow
females to bring their best shopping buddy without using gas money.”
—Rachel 23
“There have been times I was on the phone with a friend and we were
trying to coordinate which pages/products we were looking at while
shopping for and comparing various electronics. This would make that
much easier.”—Kevin, 22
“My mother and I are always cutting and pasting things from sites to
each other… This would be a nice way to shop together from far away,
and get it done instantly, instead of waiting for the other to check their
email.”—Kerryann, 36
As experienced by respondents via the ShopTogether7 tool on netshops.com, this
feature rated low in appeal; it was also rated low in importance. But respondents
were quick to note that co-shopping would be very useful when buying group gifts,
suggesting relevance for registrybased services. Many also acknowledged regularly
engaging in behaviors such as copying and pasting product images, emailing them,
and using webcams and instant messaging in an attempt to co-shop online, showing
they are already engaged in the behavior.
4. Outfitting
“Sensational. I paired several outfits together, two of which I (assumed)
originally to look nice together. I was wrong. This layer your look service
sure saved me from a disappointing return.”—Emelda, 42
“Yes. Yes. Yes. I love it. You get just that—VISUALIZATION!!! ...No
dressing room, no line to checkout in. I could put outfits together in the
comfort of my own home without my screaming children asking ‘when
are you done,’ or ‘I have to go to the bathroom,’ etc.”—Christine, 30
“I don’t layer pieces of clothing so it’s not particularly useful to me.”
—Jeremy, 21
Respondents found drag-and-drop configurators, such as Martin+Osa’s “Layer
Your Look” outfitting tool, moderately appealing and moderately important to their
buying process. What these averages fail to capture, as was often the case, is the
keen enthusiasm a minority of respondents had for this feature. Respondents—men
and women alike—who rated this tool highly used emphatic language such as “love,”
“sensational,” “amazing,” and “fantastic.” Negative comments focused on the desire
for the tool to go further—to address different sizes and shapes rather than what
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©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

13. was perceived as a static, model-sized mannequin. Some respondents who considered
themselves piece-shoppers rather than outfit-buyers were indifferent to the tool.
For retailers looking to engage multi-item outfit purchasers, this tool represents the
potential to convert consumers and increase the average order size.
5. Customization
“I love the fact that I am able to design my apparel the way I want
it…”—Dawn, 23
“Customizing something gives me a very satisfying shopping experience,
which leaves me very content with my purchase.” —Rossy, 25
“If a clothes store had full customization, I would definitely shop
there and buy from them if they were able to keep the price pretty
competitive.”—Ryan, 20
“A fantastic concept. It was fun; I tried several different looks till the
perfect shirt represented me. I felt like the designer.”—Emelda, 42
Respondents’ reactions to customization were consistent with other research studies
that have found customers to be more satisfied when they have played a part in the
production of a product or service. As the average appeal for customization was
high and the average importance moderate, we did further research into the feature
and compared it to one known to be a strong driver of purchase intent: ratings and
reviews. Customization is in a near dead heat with ratings and reviews in terms of
purchase intent: an average of 44% of respondents indicated they would be at least
“a little more likely to make a purchase” with customization features (50% said this
for home electronics, 40% for apparel). With ratings and reviews, an average 46% of
respondents said they would be “at least a little more likely to make a purchase”—
with 59% saying so for home electronics purchases and 40% indicating so for apparel.
With such positive response relative to purchase intent, customization clearly
provides a value-add to many consumers. It represents an opportunity for retailers
to engage customers emotionally with their purchase(s)—leading ideally to brand
preference—and the feature’s product differentiation possibilities can only bolster
brand differentiation.
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

14. A New Customer Journey
What is clear from the above research is that retailers must understand their
customers before introducing or retooling an experiential feature. The customer
journey has changed and the classic marketing funnel no longer applies. Instead
of being able to spend large sums of money to build brand awareness and create
a macro experience tied principally to a web site, retailers have to support myriad
micro-experiences along the path to purchase, so many, in fact, that the middle of
the journey has expanded, causing the funnel to resemble a fish. Micro-experiences
such as mobile in-store promos can be compelling enough to start a purchase
journey where there might not otherwise have been one. And the community
features that are the hallmark of the social web cannot be underestimated as
potential starting points for purchase, or as gathering points between like-minded
consumers whose tastes—and ideally, marketer-piqued interest—have given them
reason to share, connect and recommend.
Classic Marketing Funnel
Awareness Consideration Trial Purchase Loyalty
New Customer Journey
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

15. Measuring the Micro-Experience
One shortcoming of web analytics is that they stop short at what customers are
doing. There is a built-in supposition that what is being provided is the absolute
in terms of what customers need. Customer research supplements the what by
understanding why they are doing something. Tracking just the what omits why
customers take an action, or perhaps more important, why they are not doing
something else—why or even how they may or may not be able to accomplish what
they set out to.
Thanks to the online channel’s ability to provide a wealth of data, retailers have
become quite proficient in monitoring online conversion, bounce rate, time spent
on sites and click-thru rates. With the emergence and proliferation of the micro-
experience, retailers need to add another dimension of analytics to their arsenal:
task completion rate. Customers are determined to accomplish what they set out
to do, and this includes utilitarian and hedonic goals, regardless of whether the right
tools or experiences are provided. So measuring customer intent as it relates to a
specific goal that may be a step or connection point within a larger “transaction”
will help retailers understand where consumers go on their path to purchase, and
how satisfying various junctures were to them.
Following Their Lead
On the social web, customers are producing a data-rich digital footprint—a de facto
invitation for everyone to know them. Customer research is now more accessible
through methodologies such as virtual anthropology (mining the web and collecting
findings from digital footprints); partnering with companies such as Foresee or
TeaLeaf for online surveys; through customer interviews, focus groups and other
traditional qualitative methods. There are, of course, many degrees of qualitative
understanding of customers’ intentions, motivations and needs, but even the
slightest qualitative insights should be married to your quantitative data to create a
highly informed set of priorities for digital shopping experience innovation.
The online channel has become an integral part of customers’ purchase journeys—
and the online portion of these journeys has dilated, flowered, grown infinitely
layered and complex. As we have seen, customers will create makeshift solutions
to help them accomplish their goals. The opportunity for retailers to create another
value dimension for customers —ideally both practical and social—lies in investing
in the enhancement or introduction of new microexperiences that capitalize on
preexisting behaviors and motivations. The online channel offers unlimited potential
for growth through differentiation but only to those retailers willing to mine the
microexperiential level of the web for what is emerging today but essential tomorrow.
www.resource.com
©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

16. End Notes
1
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of
Resource Interactive between August 8 and August 12, 2008 among 2,088 U.S. adults, 1,846
of whom had purchased home electronics or apparel products in the past year. No estimates
of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.
2
Respondents were asked, “Please indicate how important the ability to do each of the
following is or could be to you in helping you during your shopping and purchasing process
for home electronics/apparel, even if you have never done them in the past.” Responses
were scored 1-7 based on the following options: (1) not at all important, (2) slightly important,
(3) somewhat important, (4) important, (5) very important, (6) extremely important, and (7)
absolutely essential. Each respondent was asked the question for one of the two catagories:
home electronic or apparel.
3
Two online bulletin boards were conducted within the United States by Harris Interactive
on behalf of Resource Interactive between July 8 and July 11, 2008 among 46 U.S. adults
between the ages of 18–45 who had purchased apparel or home electronics online within the
past 3 months.
4
While a majority of the experiences were tested in both the qualitative and quantitative
studies, there was not 100% overlap. Some experiences were deemed too difficult to
communicate in quantitative (which were not supported by context and/or potential for
clarification as in the qualitative). Additionally, some experiences were substituted in the
quantitative—such as “visiting a retail store”—to serve as recognizable benchmarks.
5
Respondents were asked “Thinking about your home electronics/apparel purchases over the
past year, how important were each of the following resources in helping you to make your
decisions on what home electronics/apparel item(s) to purchase? When answering, please
think about the entire purchase process, including researching what to purchase, determining
where to purchase, deciding what to purchase, and anything else related to your home
electronics/apparel purchase decisions.” Responses were scored 1-7 based on the following
options: (1) not at all important, (2) slightly important, (3) somewhat important, (4) important,
(5) very important, (6) extremely important, and (7) absolutely essential.
5a
Disclaimer: We want to note that this was a self-reported survey. As a result, customers may
not be aware of and/or acknowledge the importance of advertising in the same way we may
define advertising.
6
Appeal was rated via qualitative bulletin boards, so results must be considered directional.
7
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Data presentation and
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17. About
Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, is the world’s leading
membership community for digital retail. Founded in 1996, Shop.org’s 700
members include the 10 largest retailers in the U.S. and more than 60 percent of the
Internet Retailer Top 100 E-Retailers. It’s where the best retail minds come together
to gain the insight, knowledge and intelligence to make smarter, more informed
decisions in the evolving world of the Internet and multichannel retailing. Shop.
org programs and activities include benchmarking research, events and networking
communities. Learn more at www.shop.org
Sterling Commerce, an AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) company, provides software that enables
retailers to connect, communicate and collaborate with customers, partners and
suppliers to simplify crosschannel execution. The company’s multi-channel selling
applications enable retailers to provide customers and partners with a personalized
and unified buying experience across all channels. Its multi-channel fulfillment
applications cost effectively orchestrate global order and service fulfillment across
the extended enterprise. The company’s business process integration solutions
enable retailers to streamline internal and external business processes and
collaborate with an unparalleled community of supply chain partners. Learn more
at www.sterlingcommerce.com
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries
and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the
United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world’s most
advanced IP-based business communications services and the nation’s leading
wireless, high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets,
AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of
its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand
is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part
of its three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV entertainment
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©2009 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

18. offerings. In 2008, AT&T again ranked No. 1 on Fortune magazine’s World’s Most
Admired Telecommunications Company list and No. 1 on America’s Most Admired
Telecommunications Company list. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the
products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at
www.att.com.
Resource Interactive is one of the nation’s preeminent digital marketing agencies,
helping Fortune 500 companies thrive in the evolving internet economy with
award-winning digital strategy, creative and technology solutions. Known for
its revolutionizing consumer insights, leading edge interactive design and
technological innovation, Resource Interactive is ranked among the top ten
independent interactive agencies in the nation.
Unique in the industry as female-founded, owned and operated, Resource
Interactive has grown over its 28-year history from its first marketing relationship
with Apple to ongoing partnerships with clients such as Procter & Gamble, Hewlett-
Packard, The Coca-Cola Company, Victoria’s Secret, Sherwin-Williams and L.L.
Bean, among others. For more information, visit www.resource.com.
343 North Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215
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