PRINTER news
Neographics Honors Power of Print
PHILADELPHIA—Nearly 300 printing industry representatives gathered at the Union League here last month for the 39th annual Neographics awards gala, sponsored by the Graphic Arts Association. The Power of Print winners were honored.
Stephen Esser, president of Kutztown Publishing, was also honored as the Neographics 2010 Person of the Year; John Carrelli of Alcom Printing was named Craftsperson of the Year; and retired Fuji sales executive Jim Seybold received the Unsung Hero award.
Print in the Mix
Cross-Channel Commerce: The Consumer View
In the fall of 2009, MarketTools surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. consumers to find out how frequently consumers use multiple channels to browse, research and purchase a broad range of products and services. The channels surveyed included Websites, brick-and-mortar stores, catalogs, mobile devices and customer service representatives. In addition, the survey studied consumers' reactions to the experiences found using different shopping channels.
The Results: On average, more than three-quarters of consumers are using two or more channels to browse, research and purchase products. Because consumers are coming to merchants through multiple channels, it's necessary to link those experiences and create a continuous conversation to avoid gaps where the sale could be lost.
Merchants don't have to necessarily serve up the identical experience in each channel, but rather optimize and connect channel interactions to deliver consistent brand experiences.
Select Top-Line Results:
• Catalogs are strong traffic drivers to the Web—78 percent of surveyed consumers use catalogs to browse and discover new products and services.
• 60 percent of consumers say they make purchases via catalogs four times a year or more.
• Mobile commerce is playing a role in the cross-channel experience, particularly with younger consumers—27 percent of consumers 18 and older are using their mobile devices to browse or research products and services at least periodically. This number jumps to 41 percent for the 18- to 34-year-old age group.
• Consumers often start browsing and researching online, yet ultimately make purchases in the store.
To read this Print in the Mix Research Summary and other print market research studies, go to www.printinthemix.rit.edu. Print in the Mix is a free and easily accessible clearinghouse of research on print media effectiveness, published by the Printing Industry Center at RIT and made possible by a grant from The Print Council (www.theprintcouncil.org). PI
