Forrester surveyed US consumers about their satisfaction with Web-to-store and store-to-Web transitions in three retail segments — apparel/accessories/footwear, consumer electronics, and wireless phones and service.

The results: Satisfaction with both Web-to-store and store-to-Web shopping is low.

• Consumer electronics: 66% satisfied with Web-to-store shopping, and 55% satisfied with store-to-Web shopping.
• Apparel/footwear/accessories: 60% satisfied with Web-to-store shopping, and 53% satisfied with store-to-Web shopping.
• Wireless products and services: 54% satisfied with Web-to-store shopping, and 48% satisfied with store-to-Web shopping.

Some of our other findings:

• Wireless service providers offer the least satisfying experiences. Only 54% of consumers who researched wireless handsets and services online then purchased in the store reported satisfaction with their experiences. Wireless service providers offered the least satisfying store-to-Web experiences, too, with only 48% — fewer than half — of consumers saying that they were satisfied with researching phones and plans in the store and then going to the Web to buy.
• The youngest and oldest shoppers were least satisfied with Web-to-store experiences. Looking at the age breakdown of Web-to-store shoppers reveals that Gen Y consumers are the most likely to research online and purchase in the store across the three retail categories we looked at. They are also generally among the least satisfied — with the exception of wireless Web-to-store purchases where Seniors and Boomers report lower satisfaction levels.
• Younger Boomers and Seniors were least satisfied with store-to-Web experiences. Older consumers are among the most dissatisfied when they cross channels — with the exception of Older Boomers, who report higher satisfaction levels than Younger Boomers. In all three retail segments, Younger Boomers and Seniors reported the lowest satisfaction with their store-to-Web experiences.

We also asked consumers what kinds of problems they encountered as they moved from one channel to the other, like inconsistencies or difficulty finding the same product. For more detail on the kinds of problems the shoppers cited and which ones were the most common, see each of the full reports:

How Satisfied Are US Consumers With Web-To-Store Shopping?

How Satisfied Are US Consumers With Store-To-Web Shopping?

Forrester's Take: There's a huge opportunity for retailers to differentiate by providing a great Web-store experience.