We love building ecommerce websites. They make ROI so measurable and marketing analysis so clear.

But there is another secondary benefit - online sales are a big driver of offline sales in a multi-channel retail market. According to an eMarketer report released today, for every $1 in online sales, the Internet influences $3.45 in store sales.

In fact, eMarketer says online product research drives more in-store sales than online sales. Customers tend to not only research and buy products online, but also research where they can get them locally.

This is yet another great reason to both provide enticing product information and allow online purchases.

View the article.