GfK Consumer, a division of GfK Custom Research North America, has announced highlights from Future Buy, its first annual integrated study of shopping behaviors. Based on a mix of research methodologies including qualitative, trend spotting from GfK’s Roper Reports, Web-based shopping patterns and in-store navigation, the study identifies a new breed of consumer as well as the emergence of the next evolution of the shopping experience.

As the World Wide Web becomes a more powerful research and purchase tool, combined with the proliferation of influential social networks offering feedback from trusted sources, an innovative kind of consumer is emerging — the "XTreme shopper." According to Future Buy, 31 percent of Americans fit within this new category of consumers, signaling the arrival of a new "shopping culture." The "XTreme shopper" breed seeks out and makes use of all the emerging technologies and information resources available in order to take control of their shopping and purchase experience. The heaviest in-store and online shoppers, they regularly synergize between both channels to maximize shopping and purchase value.

One of the most prevalent characteristics of the "XTreme shopper" is that they perceive the shopping experience as a challenge and will go to great lengths to "win." Even more so than other consumer segments, the use of online shopping sites and tools is skyrocketing among "XTreme shoppers," which is fueling a shift in retailers’ online shopping strategies including an emphasis on developing online marketplaces.

Retail is now leveraged by "XTreme shoppers" as a seamless extension of their overall buying strategy in which they elevate certain in-store elements (look, touch, feel, package information, sales associate recommendation) by category to complete the process. Moreover, Future Buy findings also reveal that the "XTreme shopper" is not a niche segment but rather a nationwide emergence that cuts across all demographics.

A key factor driving the rise of the "XTreme shopper" and the new era of shopping is the myriad of purchase pathways that allow consumers to personalize their shopping strategies, an extraordinary departure from the marketer-controlled push-pull paradigm of the past. Future Buy identified nearly 30 shopper-initiated touchpoint categories across major venues such as online, in-store, word-of-mouth, mobile, direct mail and TV. Thus, within this new shopping culture there are countless potential individualized touchpoints consumers can choose from to create a high value experience.

"In today’s new shopping landscape, consumers are empowered creators of their own shopping and purchase destinies," said Mike Kassab, senior vice president of innovation and director of the Future Buy study. "By mixing and matching information and shopping resources to meet their specific needs, consumers are now continuously creating unique pathways to purchase. This presents an unprecedented challenge for marketers who must take special care to ensure their various touchpoints work together seamlessly to help guide XTreme shoppers on their quest for the best values."