Chicago–Website consultancy The E-tailing Group released the findings of its most recent online merchandising study. Of the 100 e-commerce Websites reviewed, 57 sell via catalog as well as online. Among the findings:
* 87% of sites claim to offer a keyword search, with 89% of the multichannel Websites offering a search/shop by catalog feature.
* 92% of the sites provide some type of personalized account feature; 49% of sites offer tools such as refer/e-mail a friend, and 47% offer wish lists.
* 88% of sites use targeted e-mail, and 38% rely on newsletters to communicate with customers. Interestingly, more sites use the opt-out feature (60% for e-mail, 79% for newsletters) than an opt-in feature (52% e-mail, 42% newsletters) on their sites.
* Among multichannel Websites, 95% of catalogers enable customers to request a catalog on their Websites, whereas 100% of merchants with stores offer store locators.