By Karon Thackston © 2009, All Rights Reserved

We’ve heard it for years.  Heck, I’ve said it myself countless times before: “Click-throughs are great, but it’s conversions that really matter.”  However, consumer research over the last several years has shown a growing trend that most emarketers believed would have eased up by this date in time.  Still, one survey after another reports just the opposite: the trend is getting stronger.

What’s happening is that consumers – in increasing numbers – are researching online before buying offline (ROBO).  According to ecommerce software provider MarketLive (as reported in Internet Retailer magazine), “The picture emerging from the data shows many consumers using the web to search for deals, moving quickly from site to site, and often going into stores to buy after researching online.”… Read the rest