How to Capitalize on the Online-Offline Connection

[mandy]

What's the difference between national and local advertising? Draw two columns on a piece of paper, and you can probably list quite a few differences. But online they start to disappear.

Sure, the original assumption about how the internet would affect brands -- that e-commerce would triumph over traditional retailing -- hasn't exactly panned out. But don't let the failure of e-commerce to replace local bricks-and-mortar shops obscure a more important trend: the impact of the internet on in-store sales.

In the mid- to late '90s, there was considerable hype and speculation that e-commerce would drive many traditional stores out of business, as well as provide a platform for smaller retailers to extend their reach nationally or internationally...

full article: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=130542