Lots of talk this week regarding an article in Sunday's New York Times that suggests the growth rate of online sales is slowing down drastically.  While some are arguing that the report exaggerates the slow down (for example, as Slate.com points out, online growth rates still far outpace most industries), it does allude to something that is near and dear to our hearts here at eStara...the fact is that the overwhelming majority of consumers, 77% says the National Retail Federation, still shop across multiple channels. 

That being said, the influence that ecommerce sites have on both online and offline sales can not go unrecognized.  More than half of all consumers state that online research plays a primary role in influencing offline purchases.  And, according to this presentation by Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru, nearly 15% of online sales are transacted over the phone. This points to what Forrester has called an "inevitable convergence of retail channels."

Greg Sterling posted about something similar a couple of days ago, and offers several links on the topic from previous posts of his.

The question should not be whether companies should invest online or offline, but how are companies leveraging the strengths of each to optimize these channels and create truly seamless brand experiences?

Over at Ecommerce Insights, Kelly O'Neill of ATG expounds upon this notion by saying "We have the opportunity to engage consumers more directly, to provide better information directly to them and to help them accomplish their goals more effectively.  We have the opportunity to assess both the web experience itself and its role within the full customer life cycle."

Game on!