Home World Business shares some insights from an IBM shopping survey:
+ 60% of surveyed consumers said it is important for them to be able to find out if an item is in stock before going to the store.
+ 46% of consumers said it's important that retail employees use mobile devices to fix an out of stock issue, up six points from last year.
+ 48% percent of shoppers value initiating a personalized communication with a retailer when they are online.
Home World adds: "Additionally, the study found that associates ranked last on the list of trusted resources consumers access for product knowledge— yet another sign that the role of the sales associate is changing."