Research on showrooming suggests that while only a fraction of shoppers use mobile phones in stores to compare prices, many do go home and check what competitors are charging online. A survey by retail consultancy AlixPartners this summer found that in the prior 12 months, 33% of respondents— and 43% of electronics buyers— bought something online after checking it out in a store first.
A recent Google research project found that 80% of searches on smartphones are spontaneous, as opposed to planned, and nearly half of those are goal-oriented. Often those goals are purchases and, to Jonathan Alferness, this is evidence of mobile’s role as a bridge — and an extremely valuable one — from the digital world to the physical one.
via How Mobile Can Be A Bridge to In-Store Shopping | Digital – Advertising Age.
Ever find yourself ditching the mall and shopping from the comfort of your bedroom? Recently, Lab42 noticed a surge in online shopping and wanted to find out more about this phenomenon.
via 45% of Shoppers Buy Items Online They Wouldn’t In Person | Lab42
Minnesota is the home to an amazing advertising, marketing, and interactive development community – some would say that everyone who works the state that I call home is ‘Above Average’.
No other conference helps elevate Minnesota’s talent like the MIMA Summit.  It’s the biggest annual marketing and technology conference in the Midwest, presented by the oldest interactive marketing association in America. (FULL DISCLOSURE: I’m MIMA’s Vice President.  So, I have a soft spot in my heart for the organization – not to mention that I’m a bit of a Minnesota towny). Â
This year’s theme is No Boundaries: The Rapid Evolution and Diversification of Digital Marketing featuring keynotes by gaming expert Jane McGonigal and former Apple chief evangelist and best selling author Guy Kawasaki, as well as over 32 sessions with an incredible roster of national speakers on digital leadership, mobile e-commerce, SEO, digital strategy, social media and more (breakfast, lunch and a happy hour included).
And, you’ll network with over 700 of the smartest interactive marketers around (I know most of these people and they’re good folks). Â I’m attending and I hope you will join us.
via MIMA Summit 2012 with Guy Kawasaki & Jane McGonigal – Minneapolis, MN- October 10, 2012.
Medium is at heart a blogging service, although right now it’s only open to a select few authors. The posts are organized into “collections” that use different layouts depending on the content. One section, “The Writer’s Room,” appears to be organized by Emergence author Steven Johnson and is a plain text article template, while “Been There. Loved That.” is a photo-driven page that looks squarely like Pinterest and is curated by a developer at the company.
