A new report from comScore further highlights the importance of operating a website. According to the measurement firm, shoppers who visit a manufacturer's website spend 37 percent more on that brand in retail stores than those who have not visited their home page.

"Marketers currently invest millions of dollars in their brand websites, and the results of this study confirm the importance of this investment. Brand websites can attract and influence the behavior of the most valuable segments of any brand’s franchise," said comScore vice president Mike Zeman.

Clearly, consumers who spend the time visiting a brand's website are also the ones that would be more engaged by it and spend additional money on the company's products. If retailers don't have websites, this adds further incentive for them to fix that folly as soon as possible.

This is especially important considering the sheer number of consumers shopping online. A separate comScore report suggests that ecommerce spending hit all-time highs over the 2011 shopping season and is positioned to keep growing.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 2:59 am .