Shoppers say the Internet has become a supplemental shopping source, rather than a replacement for brick-and-mortar stores or catalogs.

Shopping life today is not about browsing the Internet or leafing through a catalog or shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. It's about doing it all.

Thus are the results of The PULSE survey, published by WSL Strategic Retail. The report found that 63% of Internet shoppers view their Internet shopping simply as another layer in their shopping life, supplementing but not replacing the shopping they do in retail stores. And this is a universal attitude across Internet shoppers, regardless of gender, age or income.

However, shoppers are divided as to whether online or offline shopping is better: 41% say shopping the store is more pleasant or easier; 47% say shopping the Internet is.

What the majority agree on is that the Internet gives them the big selection they like, (74 percent) and that to get their business, retailers need to give them the choice of shopping via a store, a catalog or a Website (63 percent).

So which comes first, browsing the Internet or browsing in a store? It's just about a toss-up for the Internet population overall, although there are some age and gender differences.

	Internet Shopping Behavior     Gender Age Base: Purchase items on the Internet Total (691) A % Men (349) B % Women (342) C % <35 (331) D % 35-54 (259) E % 55+ (101) F % I look on the Internet to see what's available and then go to the store to buy. 37 42C 31 46EF 28 29 I browse the stores to see what I want and then go on the Internet to find the best price. 29 28 30 25 36D 25 I don't usually compare what I buy on the Internet to waht's available in stores. 25 20 31B 21 26 36D Other 9 10 9 9 9 1

NOTE: UPPER CASE LETTERS indicate significance at the 90% confidence Level.

What does this all mean for merchants?

The Internet has added another layer to shoppers’ overall experience, creating new shopping opportunities at home or from the office. This should come as no surprise to those who have watched shopping hours expand every decade—Sundays, 24 hours, early morning 'til midnight during the holidays. Each expansion of retail hours has been justified by more shopping, and so it continues with the Internet.

Online stores allow merchants to offer a wider selection of products than they can in retail stores limited by square footage.

And finally, unlike the brick-and-mortar world, the Internet offers retailers an unlimited number of opportunities to present customers with links to their products, driving surfing shoppers to go where the click leads them.

In short, the rise in Internet shopping commands retailers and manufacturers alike to seize the opportunity to be everywhere the shopper is; to be online, in the catalog and at the bricks-and-mortar store.

	Internet Shopping Attitudes     Gender Age Base: Purchase items on the Internet Total (691) A % Men (349) B % Women (342) C % <35 (331) D % 35-54 (259) E % 55+ (101) F % My shopping online is in addition to my shopping in stores, it hasn't replaced it             Strongly agree / Agree 62 59 66 67 57 61 Neither agree nor disagree 22 24 21 21 25 22 Disagree / Strongly disagree 15 17 13 13 18 17 I get more pleasure shopping in stores than on the Internet             Strongly agree / Agree 41 39 42 49EF 32 35 Neither agree nor disagree 39 42 37 35 45 38 Disagree / Strongly disagree 20 19 21 16 23 27D Shopping on the Internet is easier than shopping in stores             Strongly agree / Agree 47 48 46 41 56D 43 Neither agree nor disagree 37 40 35 40 33 38 Disagree / Strongly disagree 15 12 19B 18 10 19 I like having the big selection that's available on the Internet             Strongly agree / Agree 74 76 74 75 76 63 Neither agree nor disagree 23 22 25 23 20 34E Disagree / Strongly disagree 3 2 4 2 4 3 I prefer to shop at places which offer me a choice of shopping either at the store, online or through a catalog             Strongly agree / Agree 63 61 65 64 63 61 Neither agree nor disagree 30 35C 25 30 31 29 Disagree / Strongly disagree 7 4 10B 6 7 10