To what extent is the Internet a ubiquitous marketing communication channel? In other words, is it possible for all types of companies operating in all sectors to communicate with all consumer target markets to an equal level of effectiveness? If not, how could retailers determine how to allocate online promotional spend? Increasingly, companies are keen to understand the effect and impact of their promotional spend and particulary how different marketing communication tools perform. As with broadcast media advertising, it can be difficult to assess the impact of Internet marketing initiatives on offline sales. Traditionally, in the retail sector, it is not common practice to track the reasons why consumers arrive in a particular store to make their purchase. However according to Hewitt (2004) the Internet is ‘not just a great promotion vehicle, it’s also the tracking source that enables us to close the loop and see what happened after the visitor left the Web site and went shopping’. He suggests several ways in which retailers might use the Internet to follow their customers’ offline purchasing behaviour. Tactics to gather information include the following.

Pre-purchase Internet surveys Certain products and services are ideal for selling online; books, travel and entertainment tickets, and financial services whereas other products such as cars, consumer electronics and clothing are researched but not often purchased online. AOL conducted a series of surveys of 1,004 people who had purchased TVs within the last six months and 521 people who intended to buy a TV within the next six months to find the differing types of media such consumers employed to find information to inform their purchasing decision

(see Figure 10.5). The surveys revealed that in-store displays (58%) and past experience/previous ownership

(48%) are the most important sources of TV purchase decision making, while retailer flyers (13%) and online (12%) are ranked by TV purchasers as the most important media sources for new TV information.