From MarketingVOX:

"Of the total $32.5 billion spent on the CE products tracked in the study, online research - including search engines, manufacturers' and retail websites and shopping engines - influenced 77 percent, or $25.1 billion. Some 73 percent of consumers said comparing prices of a product found in different stores is easy to do online, and 64 percent said they prefer online because of the wider variety of products available for research; 45 percent of those who research online and purchase offline use a search engine during the information-gathering process...Though the internet plays a powerful research role, print media, family and friends, retail displays and other traditional sources also aid CE purchasers; on average, consumers use six different sources to guide their CE purchase decision."